Breaking Point
by Kav23
Summary: A simple and relaxing outing at park turns into a personal case for Five 0 Task Force when one of their own turn out to be the victim, but the question is who is the real target? It's a one case that is about test everyone's breaking point.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author note:**_

 ** _Hello, everyone. English is not my first language, so be easy on me._** ** _Please review if you have time again, all feedback are appreciated._** ** _._**

 ** _Have a nice day._**

* * *

"I'm coming," Danny answered to the sound of the doorbell, knowing who would be standing on the other side. He opened the door and without any greeting, he asked "Let me ask you a question, at what point did you think it was a good idea to persuade my innocent kids to spend some time with you?

"Well, good morning to you too." Steve grinned. "Do you want to invite me in first or you want to go all mushy on the doorstep?"

Danny snorted, he couldn't resist a smile. "Come on in, you goof."

Steve walked past Danny into the living room and turned back to his partner, "You were saying…"

"You volunteered to babysit Grace and Charlie? You think you can handle them?"

"I handle you just fine, pretty sure I can handle your kids."

"It's funny you put it that way, but you've never babysat Grace and Charlie all by yourself before."

"Relax, Danny. What could possibly go wrong?" Steve shrugged.

"With you, I can think of about a thousand possible worst case scenarios."

"I think you're being overdramatic, and besides you were the one who came to me asking for suggestions. You said you wanted to support Rachel, and be beside her while she sorts out the paperwork with her divorce. And, at the same time, you want the kids to have some fun, you know, forget about Stan leaving. I come up with a strategic solution but now, you are being ungrateful of a true friend's intention to help…"

"Look at that, and you call me overdramatic?"

"Uncle Steve!" Charlie's cheerful squeal echoed from the room behind. The boy came out running, dragging a bag with him, followed by a quiet but smiling Grace.

"I thought about all the things we can do together today. I even packed my swimming trunks." The small boy spoke with glee.

"Hello, excuse me, swimming?" Danny hissed.

"Shh, Charlie. You're supposed to safeguard our top level secrets," Steve said, which earned the small boy's giggles.

"See, this is exactly what I was talking about." Danny had his hands on his hips.

"Can Uncle Steve take us for swimming, Danno? Please Danno, please…." Charlie pleaded with his puppy eyes.

"I'm not really sure about leaving my kids alone with crazy and dangerous activities lined up."

Steve and Grace both rolled their eyes.

"I will be careful, I promise," Charlie assured with a straight face.

"I know you will, Charlie." Danny smiled a little before he pointed to Steve. "I was talking about him."

Steve smirked. "Oh, am I your kid now? Well, if that's the case, then, I will protect myself, and my siblings at all cost, scout's honor, Danno." Steve held his right hand up with three fingers pointing at the sky and his thumb and pinky together over his palm.

Danny curled up his lips in annoyance. "Grace, I'm putting you in charge of these two musketeers."

Grace looked askance at Danny before she grabbed the chocolate bars from the dining table, walked past Danny, and hugged Steve. "It's okay, Uncle Steve. Danno just can't handle our awesomeness."

Steve smirked at Danny as he kissed her head. "That's my girl."

"You know, you three out together…" Danny pointed at each one of them "are going to definitely cause my heart to pound out of my chest by the end of the day."

"Hey, don't jinx it, buddy," Steve warned. "You're acting like an old man."

"I'm old? That's classic coming from you."

"Can we go now?" Charlie pouted in the middle of their banter.

"I'm eager to go too buddy, but your father doesn't seem to want to give his blessing."

"Danno!"

"Okay fine, fine. Go ahead, have some fun, 12 percent of fun."

"Only 12 percent?" Steve grumbled as he took the bag from Charlie. "And I need your car keys."

"Why my car? What happened to your truck?" Danny asked.

"It got sick, sent it to the clinic," Steve said which earned another giggle from Charlie.

Danny tossed his car keys to Steve. "I will swing by later, if possible," Danny said before he picked up his buzzing phone.

Steve waved, led the kids to the car, and helped them to buckle up before he jumped in the driver's seat.

"Okay, what's the first place on your mind, Charlie?" Steve asked, looking at Charlie through the rearview mirror.

"Play time at the park, lunch at Kamekona's, ninja movie in the afternoon, then swimming, cookout on the beach, maybe another ninja movie, then a sleepover with all of us together in the living room." The boy spoke without a break.

"Woah." Steve was impressed. "Sound like an excellent plan. What do you think, Gracie?"

"Sounds good to me." Grace ruffled Charlie's hair.

Charlie smiled, happy having his plan approved.

"Well, what are we waiting for, let's get going." Steve pulled out of the driveway into the traffic, glancing at the kids, smiling along with them, unaware of the black van following them from a distance.

-H50-H50-H50-

"Who's that guy?"

"Not really sure. Do you think he is…?"

"Who knows, but that's the car."

"Do you think we should call the boss?"

"Are you nuts? Boss's instructions were very clear, he told us exactly what we should do and besides, I don't think he will be happy about us second guessing his plan."

"He looks fit to me. You think he will put up a fight?"

"We have only one way to find out." The man sighed to his partner. "Keep the guns loaded, just in case."

* * *

 _ **All feedback are appreciated. Thank you for your time.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author note:**_

 ** _Hello, everyone. English is not my first language, so be easy on me. A very big fat thank you for all those who have taken time to review and follow the story._**

 ** _Please review if you have time again, all feedback are appreciated._**

 ** _Have a nice day._**

* * *

"Charlie, be careful, buddy!" Steve called out to the small boy who started to run through the parking lot towards the playhouse in the park.

He jogged a little and caught Charlie's hand. "Don't think your father would like to see you running out like that." He turned back and checked on Grace who was walking with her face glued to her phone. "Gracie, watch where you're walking." He warned gently.

Charlie tugged at Steve's hand. "But that's my friend, Sean, from school. Can I go and say hi, Uncle Steve?"

"Okay, hold on; let's get to the playhouse first." They crossed the path used by joggers and he set the boy free.

Charlie ran excitedly and joined his friend on the climbing wall.

"Is he always this hyperactive?" Steve asked, joining Grace on the bench.

"He has his moments. You need to let him burn up all of his excess energy."

Steve closed his eyes for a moment, letting the fresh air brush against his face. His lips curved up into a smile when he heard Charlie's carefree laughter.

With his eyes glued on Charlie, watching over the boy, Steve spoke to Grace. "So, how're things going for you, Gracie?" Steve started casually, hoping the conversation would reach the destination he was aiming for.

Grace shrugged. "Normal, nothing unusual."

"Uh huh." Steve sighed; perhaps he should ask what he wanted to ask. "Gracie, how are you holding up?"

"I was hoping you wouldn't ask that question," Grace said as she waved to Charlie who was waving to them from the playhouse.

Steve waved to Charlie as well. "I can't help it. I need to know if my sweetheart is alright."

That gained a genuine smile from Grace. She wrapped her right arm around Steve's waist and gave him a one-sided hug. She breathed out. "I'm not at my best, but I'll be okay."

Steve wrapped his arm around her shoulder, gave it a little squeeze and kissed the side of her head. "I know you're trying to put a brave face on in front of Danno, your mother, and Charlie but you don't have to do that for me. You can always talk to me."

"I know." She smiled sadly. "I have grown up, Uncle Steve. I know we can't force anybody to stay in any relationship they don't like and, in fact, I'm grateful that Stan stayed as long as he did, but after all that we have shared, he left even without a goodbye. It kind of hurt."

"I know, Gracie. I know." Steve looked up and caught a glance of a black van circling the parking lot.

"You know, Uncle Steve…" Grace continued but Steve zoned out. His eyes were on the black van. It had just made another circle.

 _Perhaps they_ _'re_ _looking for something or someone._

His mind tried to justify, but his instincts couldn't be appeased.

-H50-H50-H50-

"Aaron, why are you circling man? We got a job to do."

"You think I don't know that, Jackie? Look around you, look at all those people. You expect us to run in just like that and do what we have to do?"

"I know that," Jackie snapped. "But this is our only chance, we miss this, we are so screwed."

"I freaking know it man, and you repeating it like every five minutes is not helping. We have to be careful. You heard the boss, lay low but get things done."

"But circling like this is not laying low, man. Stop, park the van."

-H50-H50-H50-

Danny looked at Rachel. She was quiet and lost in her own thoughts. "Penny for your thoughts?"

Danny's words brought her back to a the moment. Rachel pressed her lips together, tried to convey an expressionless smile. "Nothing, just wondering about things."

Danny leaned closer, eyes on people walking in and out of the law office. "If you're still blaming yourself, you've got to stop."

"I know, Danny. I know that I can't change what happened, but I can't stop thinking about what kind of mother I am, that I can't even give a consistent environment for my children to grow up in? What kind of example am I?" Tears almost formed in the corner of her eyes.

"Hey," Danny squeezed Rachel's hand. "You're a good mother, don't you ever doubt that. I know that there is nothing you wouldn't do for the kids. Things are a little rocky now, but we will fix this, okay?

Rachel nodded, tried to control herself, allowing Danny's reassurance to comfort her, at least for the moment.

-H50-H50-H50-

Grace was grateful that despite the changes happening in her life, she had some real people she could count on, one of them was her Uncle Steve.

After all that had happened, Grace felt emotional turmoil, but she was not bold enough to share it with anyone in the house. She didn't want anyone to know that it was taking time for her to move on.

But, she was thankful that she found a person she could share her chaos with. Unfortunately, the thankfulness turned into annoyance when she realized her Uncle Steve was not listening, and in fact, sitting side by side on the bench, the back of his head was what greeted her when she turned to him.

"Uncle Steve, were you even listening?" Grace grumbled softly.

Grace frowned, even that statement didn't seem to get his attention. Grace looked past him, her eyes danced around, trying to figure out what had stolen his attention from her.

A black van.

Grace narrowed her eyebrows. It looked familiar.

* * *

 _ **All feedback are appreciated. Thank you for your time.**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author note:**_

 ** _Hello, everyone. English is not my first language, so be easy on me. A very big thank you for all those who have taken time to review and follow the story._**

 ** _Please review if you have time again, all feedback are appreciated._**

 ** _Have a nice day._**

* * *

Grace frowned as she observed the van for a moment. Her brows were knitted together as she thought very hard.

"Gracie!"

Grace gasped and unbelievably, Steve did too.

"Gotcha." The little boy giggled in delight. His mission was successful, he was able to startle both his sister and Uncle.

"Charlie!" Grace called in annoyance.

"You got me there, buddy." Steve smiled a little as he shook his head.

In that moment, unfortunately, Charlie had swept Steve and Grace's attention away from the van.

"I want to swing now. You will have to push me, Uncle Steve. Come on, please, please." The boy pleaded as he gripped Steve's hand and tried to drag him to the nearby swing.

"Okay, okay, come on." Steve threw Grace a smile before he let himself be dragged away by Charlie.

Grace smiled as well. She quickly took her phone and snapped a few pictures of her uncle and brother. These were some of the photos she loved to collect. She had enough photos of her uncle being fearless while fighting against crime in Hawaii. She got those pictures for free from the newspapers or magazines, but these were some of the priceless pictures she loved to collect.

"Push me higher, Uncle Steve," Charlie asked as he carefully climbed on.

"Higher?" Steve stood behind the swing and began to push it lightly. "Remember what your father said about only having 12 percent fun?"

"Danno is not here, and I won't tell him."

"Uh huh." Steve chuckled, "That's rich coming from Danno's son." Steve winked at Grace. "Wait until Danno hears about this." Steve gave the swing another push and rolled his eyes when he realized what Grace was doing.

"Grace, what are you doing?"

The girl giggled. She always knew that taking photos of Steve McGarrett's soft side was not an easy task.

"Taking some pictures of this beautiful park, and isn't it a beautiful day?" Grace spoke as she carefully turned on the video recording.

"Nice try, and by the way, you can switch off the video recording now."

"Not cool, Uncle Steve," Grace said as she stood up and walked to the swing with the video still rolling. "Do you have any idea of how tricky these pictures are?"

Steve frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Higher, Uncle Steve!" Charlie grumbled when Steve wasn't pushing the swing fast enough.

"Okay, easy there, tiger." Steve pushed the swing a bit higher and turned back to Grace. "You were saying…"

"I need some pictures, you know" Grace shrugged. "To update your Facebook account."

"But … I don't have a Facebook account, Gracie." Steve said, smiling nervously.

"You don't, but I do."

Steve's eyes almost bug out, "You have a Facebook account on my name?"

Grace nodded. "Uh huh."

"Oh God."

"Relax, Uncle Steve. It's not that bad…"

"Grace, GET DOWN!"

Honestly, Grace literally jumped with the sudden intensity in Steve's voice. Before she even knew what was wrong, Steve grabbed her arm and threw her down to the ground, rather harshly.

Within a blink of an eye, Charlie was also thrown down beside her on the hard ground.

"Uncle Steve, what…"

Grace was interrupted when Steve jumped on top of them, keeping them underneath him, shielding them.

Grace felt her stomach churn when she heard the sound of gunshots and despite being shielded by Steve's body, Grace could hear the muffled voices of people screaming. Grace counted seven shots before she heard the sound of vehicle tires, making a harsh turn desperately leaving the scene.

Charlie was crying, wailing to be exact but Grace couldn't move to attend to him as Steve's arms were held strongly around her. Charlie began to cry louder and he sounded terrified. Taking a sharp intake of breath, Grace fought against the strong arm and began to crawl out.

"Oh shit," Grace swore when she saw several bloody wounds, streaming from Steve's neck to his lower back.

"Oh, God, no, no, no, God, please no." Grace cried, as she carefully pulled Charlie out of Steve's grip.

"Call 911!" Grace ordered to the other women who came running to help. She heard Charlie's distraught cries coming from behind her,where she had pushed him after she pulled him out of Steve's grip. Charlie's cry broke her heart but she knew she could not attend to him right now. Thankfully, in the corner of her eye, she could see an elderly man hugging him, speaking to him in a calm manner, and turning his attention away from the horrifying scene.

"Ambulance and police are on the way." A voice spoke to her, but she didn't bother to turn around to acknowledge the voice.

Grace ripped off her favorite sweater and gently pressed it against the wound in Steve's neck. She brushed some sand away from Steve's face, particularly around his nose and mouth.

With shaky fingers, she pressed against the other side of his neck to check if Steve was breathing. Grace closed her eyes for a moment, finally able to breathe out calmly at least once, when she found a faint beat against her fingers. Another pair of hands came into view, holding a jacket. Grace looked up and her eyes locked with another pair of eyes, belonging to a young woman, who knelt down on the other side. She held her jacket against Steve's back, hoping to stop the flow of blood. Grace swallowed the lump in her throat. The woman's hand was firm against Steve's shoulder and back.

 _3 gunshot wounds?_

"It's okay, sweetie. Help is on the way." The woman assured her, and true to her assurance, Grace could hear sirens in the distance.

Grace looked back at Steve's pale face. Her hand holding her sweater against his neck was soaking through. She knew he was bleeding badly.

Grace sniffed. Her body was shaking uncontrollably, she couldn't focus and her breathing was labored. Grace didn't really know what happened next. Suddenly, there was too much movement, she saw two paramedics, shouting, no probably asking her something, but she couldn't answer. Words stuck in her throat. Someone pulled her from behind, probably the same young woman. She was pulled away, giving the paramedics enough space to work on Steve. They were shouting some words towards each other, words that Grace could not understand.

Grace's hands were wet. She looked down as she lifted her hands up, and they were trembling before her eyes, covered with bright red blood. Steve's blood, her Uncle Steve's blood. Everything zoned out for a second as reality sank in. While black dots danced violently in her vision, Grace turned to the side, retched harshly until her stomach was empty.

* * *

 _ **All feedback are appreciated. Thank you for your time.**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Author note:**_

 ** _Hello, everyone. English is not my first language, so be easy on me. First of all, I don't have much knowledge on medical stuff, but I did some reading, found an interesting case. I will try to project the situation as accurately as possible. Thank you for pointing out your opinions and concerns, it helps me to be more focused. One thing I can tell you for sure, the shooting at the park, it's just a beginning._**

 ** _Please review if you have time again, all feedback are appreciated._**

 ** _Have a nice day._**

* * *

 _Danny, there was a shooting in the park._

That was enough information from Chin to set Danny on a driving rampage. For a person who speaks highly of obeying laws, he was breaking a dozen of traffic laws and little did he care at the moment.

 _The kids are okay, I repeat, Grace and Charlie are okay._

Physically maybe, but emotionally, Danny highly doubted it. God knows what they went through in those moments.

 _But Steve, it's bad, brah._

Danny swallowed the lump that formed in his throat. Honestly, Danny didn't know what to think, who to blame, but the only thing he wanted to do at that moment was to sweep the kids up in his arms. He knew Steve very well, there was no way he could have put Grace and Charlie in harm's way. Danny's emotions swirled like a maniacal tornado and the only thing that was keeping him grounded was Rachel's hand on his shoulder. Surprisingly, she didn't complain about the driving, not even a single word. Rachel had been awfully silent from the second Danny told her what had happened, but her eyes … her eyes were bright with emotion. He knew that she also wanted nothing but to see the kids.

 _You should get down to Tripler right now._

And that's where they were heading at full speed.

-H50-H50-H50-

Dr. Connor hurried down the hospital hallway. He quickly passed people crowding the area and made his way to the Emergency Unit, particularly to Trauma One.

"Sarah, why is my pager ringing in my ears when you promised me a quiet morning today?" He asked his colleague. "What've we got here?" Dr. Connor asked as his eyes scanned the fluctuating heart monitor.

"It's Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett." Dr. Sarah said briefly. "Five 0 Task Force leader." She hoped the introduction would stress how important the patient was.

"Get me a gown and gloves," Dr. Connor said, his voice strained with urgency. "What's the story?" Dr. Connor asked as he slipped his arms into the sterile surgical gown being held by the nurse.

"GSW. Trauma to the neck, shoulder, and hip."

"Now, this is something we don't see every day." Dr. Connor got right down to business. "How do you want to play this?"

Dr. Sarah looked up briefly. "His shoulder and hip are mine, you take care of his neck, and dinner's on me."

"Sounds like a plan, let's do this." Dr. Connor said, hoping his casual attitude would decrease the tension forming in the trauma room before he turned to his attending chief nurse, "Nora, bring me up to the speed."

"The bullet entered the left posterior cervical region, above and medial to the left scapula. The exit point was midline in the anterior aspect of the neck.

Dr. Connor shook his head, now he knew why Sarah called. It was not going to be an easy one. "I'm listing it as zone II neck injury, let's start with hemodynamic stabilization and I need a neurosurgeon and radiologist down here STAT!"

-H50-H50-H50-

Danny made a sharp turn, squealing the tires, as he stopped in front of the hospital, the wheels were smoking when he jumped out of the car. He tossed Rachel's car keys to the HPD officer standing nearby, hoping they would properly park it. Both Danny and Rachel ran in, only to be stopped by Chin at the entrances.

"Chin, what happened?" Danny questioned. Panic was clearly evident in his voice. Rachel was looking at Chin as well.

"First off Danny," Chin turned to Rachel and acknowledged her, "Rachel, the kids are fine; there is something you should know before you go to them."

"What is it?" Rachel asked as she held her arms against her chest, defensively.

"We really don't know what happened at the park yet, we have Duke and his men looking into it as we speak, all we know at this moment is that Steve threw the kids down to the ground and used his body as a shield to protect them."

Danny winced, of course Steve would do that, that bastard would go to any extent to protect his kids. "How is he, Chin?"

Chin let out a shaky breath, "We don't know, they took him straight in. He was shot three times; the paramedic said the gunshot wound to his neck doesn't look good."

"His neck, Chin?" Danny ran his fingers through his hair. Frustration was beginning to wash over him.

"Yeah." Chin nodded sympathetically. "Listen," Chin continued. "Lou is watching over Charlie, they are at the vending machine around the corner. The doctor released him; he just has some bruises, but Grace…"

"What about Grace?" Rachel asked.

"Grace was the one who gave initial aid to Steve, she managed to hold together until the paramedic took over. She threw up on the scene, and now, she's in the waiting room, completely zoned out. She has not spoken a single word until now. Kono has been trying very hard to take Grace to the washroom, to wash the blood, to let the doctor check her, but she won't budge. She is not responding to us."

Danny closed his eyes, as he rubbed his face. It was completely understandable. How else would you want a teenage girl to react after watching her favorite Uncle getting shot right in front of her?

"Danno…mommy." The desperate call of the small boy echoed from the hallway.

Rachael ran forward and scooped Charlie into her arms. She hugged him greedily as she kissed all over his face. Danny hugged Charlie's back and kissed his head.

"Something is wrong with Uncle Steve and Grace, she won't talk to me." Charlie sobbed over Rachel's shoulder. "Shh...It's okay, baby." Rachel soothed him."Go get Grace." Rachel whispered to Danny.

"Go ahead, Danny. I will stay with them." Lou Grover assured as well.

Danny nodded at Rachel, silently requesting her to take care of Charlie. Rachel nodded in return, her eyes gesturing towards the waiting room, asking him to find Grace.

Giving Charlie another kiss, Danny sprinted to the waiting room but his legs stopped dead in his tracks. He felt his heart sink when he saw his precious daughter. She was sitting in the corner of her room with her legs pulled up to her chest. Her favorite multi-layered sleeveless vest chiffon shirt was covered with blood. Her face was pale and her eyes were red, expressionless.

Danny walked in and knelt down in front of her. He cupped her face, locking her eyes with his, "Monkey…" He whispered.

Grace blinked as she allowed the tears to stream down her face. "Danno…" She hugged him and finally, broke down over his shoulders. Grace's weeping was a sound that would haunt Danny forever.

* * *

 _ **All feedback are appreciated. Thank you for your time.**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Author note:**_

 ** _Hello, everyone. E_** ** _nglish is not my first language, so be easy on me. Thanks for those who have taken time to review and follow the story._**

 ** _Please review if you have time again, all feedback are appreciated._**

 ** _Have a nice day._**

* * *

"Who would go on a shooting spree in a park with kids playing?"

Chin looked up at Duke and sighed. "Perhaps someone with a serious grudge."

"Or someone who is desperate and stupid enough to shoot in broad daylight leaving behind a lot of witnesses."

Chin frowned when he heard the voice, "Kono, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at the hospital?"

"I can't," Kono shook her head, as she scanned the park. She winced slightly when she saw sand mixed with blood a few feet away from her, she knew it belonged to the man she had come to respect beyond reason, Steve.

Chin touched her arm, diverting her attention. "Any news on Steve yet?"

"No," Kono whispered. "All they said was, it's going to be a long surgery. So, it's a good thing, right? That means he's hanging in there."

"Yeah." Chin smiled sadly. "You know if anyone can beat this, it's McGarrett."

Kono nodded. "That's why I can't stay at the hospital. It's driving me crazy. My best chance is doing what I'm good at. I asked Lou to stay with Danny though."

"Good. I certainly need a hand here." Chin turned back to Duke. "Duke, you said you have something for us."

"Yeah." He handed an evidence bag to Chin. "Grace's phone, we found it at the scene. According to one of the witnesses, Ms. Lea, she saw Grace taking some photos, so hopefully, you can get something from her phone. The screen is cracked pretty badly though."

"It's okay, Duke." Kono smiled. "Chin can work his magic."

"My men took statements from all the witnesses. Those files will be sent to your office shortly."

"Thanks, Duke. Let's head back to the office, see if we can get anything from the phone and reports." Chin said and Kono agreed.

-H50-H50-H50-

Danny was on the floor in the waiting room, leaning against the couch holding a weeping Grace. He held her closely, as he ran his fingers through her hair, mumbling comforting words. Frequently, he turned and pressed an assuring kiss on her head.

Lou stood at the entrances of the waiting room, his heart ached for Danny. In the corner of his eye, to his right side, he could see Rachel walking back and forth in the hallway, rocking their little boy. Lou pressed his lips together as he closed his eyes for a moment. Man, he prayed to God hoping He would make this easier.

Danny raised his eyebrows, panicked when he felt Grace go limp against his chest. "Grace…" Danny called as he brought her down into his arms. "Grace," Danny called again, alarmed when Grace was unconscious.

"Hey, hey, it's okay." Lou was beside Danny. "I think she wore herself out. I'll get a nurse right away."

Danny felt tears leaking out from the corners of his eyes. He had never felt this helpless in his life before.

In a few seconds, Lou came back with a nurse."It's okay, detective." The nurse assured. "She just passed out. It's completely understandable given what she has been through. I'm going to get a stretcher, we will settle her in a room, let her get some proper rest."

Danny simply nodded when words failed him. Even after two men came in and took Grace away on the stretcher, Danny was still sitting on the floor.

Lou looked at Danny sympathetically before he went and sat on the couch. He placed a reassuring hand on Danny's shoulder. Lou's hand brought Danny out of his dazed state. He cleared his throat, "Any word on Steve?"

"No," Lou answered. "They said it will take some time, it's a delicate surgery."

"Of course that's the McGarrett we know. The maniac definitely knows how to keep us on our toes." Danny let out a shaky laugh."Oh, man, this … this is a mess." Danny mumbled before he ran both his hands over his head and brought his elbows to his knees, hoping he could shut himself out from the cruel reality, at least for a moment. "They were supposed to have some fun, Lou." Danny looked up again at Grover.

"I know and I promise you, we will get whoever is behind this."

"You're damn right," Danny stood up followed by Grover. "Lou, can I ask you a favor?"

"You just have to name it."

"I can't stay here, I need to know what is happening but at the same time, I don't want to leave Rachel and the kids alone. Can you stay with them, please?"

"Of course, Danny. I already spoke to management. They will settle Grace in a private room. I will take Rachel and Charlie up there as well. I won't let them leave my sight. You have my word."

"Thanks Lou, but I have to talk to Rachel first."

"I'll get her, wait here," Grover said before he walked out, approached Rachel, and took the sleeping boy into his arms and then sent her to the waiting room.

"Danny, how's Grace?" Rachel came in running with a question.

"She passed out. They are settling her in a room," Danny said.

Rachel closed her eyes and shook her head. "What the hell is going on, Danny?"

Danny expected the question, of course, a mother would want to know. "I don't know but I promise you, I'm will find out."

"I need you to promise me something else," Rachel requested.

"What is it?"

"Promise me that you will personally catch all the people responsible for putting our kids through hell today. Tell me you will not back down until you set this problem straight." Rachel spoke looking straight into Danny's eyes.

"I promise you. Whoever they are, wherever they are, they will not get away, but I want you to know that Steve is a victim in this as much as our kids, there is no way he…"

"You can't be seriously be thinking that I would blame Steve for this?"

"No, I'm not saying that. I just want you to know…"

"Danny, I might not have spent time with Steve like you all have, but I have heard a lot about that man from Grace and even Charlie and today he has taken 3 bullets protecting our kids. So no, Steve doesn't deserve all this shit either. You've got to stop talking to me, and go find whoever they are, and kick the life out of them."

"I will, I promise you." Danny gave Rachel a brief hug before he ran out of the waiting room. He lost momentum in the middle. He stopped and glanced backward towards the emergency room. He didn't know if Steve was still there or if they had taken him up to the operating room.

 _Hang in there, partner. God, please. I beg you don't … please don't take him away from me._

With that silent prayer and a heavy heart, Danny ran out of the hospital.

-H50-H50-H50-

"Chin, any luck on the phone?" Kono asked when she saw Chin walking back in.

"Jerry said he needs another few minutes. So, I came back up, at least I can go through the report with you while waiting." Chin said as he joined Kono near the smart table. "Anything stand out in the report?"

"According to Ms. Lea's statement, Steve and kids were the only ones playing on the swings when the shooting started.

"Read out exactly what she said?"

"Okay," Kono flipped the report and did some quick reading. _"I was at the climb_ _ing wall_ _with my son when I heard him shouting, asking Charlie's sister to get down."_

"Wait a second, she is so specific with Charlie's name? Does she know him?"

"Yeah," Kono nodded. "According to the notes, her son Sean and Charlie go to the same school."

"Go on."

 _"All I heard at first was the sound of something hitting metal."_

"That's probably the sound of the bullet hitting the metal pole supporting the swing. Duke pulled out four slugs. Ballistic are working on it, we'll get details on the weapon soon." Chin updated.

 _"People started to scream, and there was so much chaos. I didn't know what to do, so I pulled my son and hit the ground as well."_

"Anything else?" Chin questioned.

"Yeah." Kono continued. "She said in the midst of the chaos, she saw a black van leaving the scene. Before you ask, no, she didn't see the license plate. Woah, listen to this." Kono said, gaining Chin's attention. "According to her statement, the same black van pulled into the park just a few minutes after Steve with the kids, and she didn't see anyone getting out of the van."

"Kono, compare with other witness reports, see if anyone else mentioned this black van."

"On it."

"Did you just say black van?"

Both Kono and Chin turned and saw Jerry walking through the glass door with a thumb-drive in his hand.

"Jerry, tell me we got something solid."

"I think so. I pulled out the memory from Grace's phone, isolated the pictures captured today and I found two videos as well," Jerry said as he inserted his thumb-drive into the smart table.

"Great, show us."

"Guys, hold on a minute," Kono whispered as she closed the file opened by Jerry. Her eyes gestured towards Danny who was walking through the glass door.

Chin raised his eyebrows. "Danny, what are you doing here?"

"What do you mean what am I doing here? We've got a case to work on."

"Danny, I think it would be wise if you sit this one out, brah," Chin whispered and Kono nodded in agreement.

"No, I'm not going to sit this one out and please let it go, because you will only waste your time. My partner is lying on an operating table with three bullets in him, my little girl was passed out in my arms because of an emotional breakdown. She has my innocent son believing that he did something wrong because his Uncle won't wake up and his sister won't talk to him, so no Chin, I'm not walking out on this one."

* * *

 _ **I know all are worried about Steve and sorry for not updating about him, but soon, I promise. All feedback are appreciated. Thank you for your time.**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Author note:**_

 ** _Hello, everyone._** ** _E_** ** _nglish is not my first language, so be easy on me. Thanks for those who have taken time to review and follow the story._**

 ** _Please review if you have time again, all feedback are appreciated._**

 ** _Have a nice day._**

* * *

"You have to understand, I can't sit this one out," Danny whispered, his eyes were begging for their understanding.

"Okay," Chin gave in, "But you have to promise me, if at any moment, it gets out of hand, you will let us to handle it," Chin demanded.

"I promise. What are we looking at?" Danny turned to the screen of the smart table.

"We were just going to look into some of the photos Grace took this morning, hopefully, they can tell us something," Kono updated.

Danny nodded and he felt a wave of emotions wash over him when Jerry began to slide the pictures one by one on the screen. The pictures started while the trio was in the car itself. There were pictures of Grace and Charlie smiling with the peace sign on the back seat, a picture of Steve driving, picture of Charlie having his arms around Steve's neck standing on the back of Steve's seat.

"There is a video here," Jerry said before he clicked it.

 _Hi_ , the video started with Grace waving. She turned the camera to Charlie. _Say hi Charlie_. The little boy waved shyly and Grace's face appeared back on the screen again, with Charlie in the background. _So it's Saturday, pretty much going to be an awesome Saturday because we are hanging out with … Uncle Steve!_ Grace and Charlie said in unison. Grace turned the camera to the road, showing the moving vehicles. _So first up, we are heading to the park_ , Grace's voice echoed and when she turned the camera again, Charlie was standing with his arms around Steve's neck. _Charlie,_ Steve called, he had one of his hand on Charlie's arms. _Buddy, you can't be standing while I'm driving, sit down and put your seat be_ _l_ _t back on_ _._ _Danno will kill me if he sees this_. The video ended and Danny swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Next pictures are all those from the park," Jerry informed.

Danny stuck his hands in his pocket as he watched the pictures of Charlie smiling in wonderment as Steve pushed the swing and there were some random pictures of people in the park before Jerry played the second video.

 _Grace, what are you doing?_ The next video starts with Steve trying to look annoyed. Danny felt a pit in his stomach when he heard Grace's laughter in the background. He wondered how long it would take before he would hear that carefree laughter again. _Taking some pictures of this beautiful park, and isn't it a beautiful day?_ Grace randomly moved the camera showing the park around. _Nice try, and by the way, you can switch off the video recording now_. Danny looked directly at Steve's smiling face on the screen. He wished he could run into the screen, he wished he had a time travel machine that would take him back, that would allow him to go back and save his best friend and his kids. Danny chuckled lightly when he saw Charlie grumbling about Steve not pushing him high enough. Everyone in the room couldn't help but smile when they heard Grace say she had a Facebook account in Steve's name and at the way Steve's eyes bugged out. The very next moment, Steve's facial expression changed.

"I guess he saw something." Danny voiced out his thought.

 _Grace, GET DOWN!_ Steve lunged forward, grabbing Grace's arm and the screen went black.

"Jerry, you said we have something on the black van."

"Black van?" Danny questioned.

Kono nodded before she turned to him and shared what they had discovered earlier. Danny upon hearing the facts also turned to Jerry for answers.

"Look at this," Jerry said he showed the random pictures captured by Grace in the park. "See the black van parked?"

Danny hunched forward and examined the pictures.

"Unfortunately we can't get the license plate, none of the pictures were angled to show it. So we know the van has something to do with the shooting since the witness, Ms. Lea, did say the van came in just after Steve and left after the shooting, right? Check this out," Jerry played the first video back. "Look carefully when Grace is showing the vehicles on the road, can you see that one vehicle just beside their line, keeping up with Steve's speed?"

"A black van." Danny gasped.

"They were followed to the park," Kono added.

"Jerry, please tell me you can get a plate number at least from the video." Danny pleaded.

"We can't really see it in the video but I will separate the video frame by frame, see what I can get. I even started to run risk analysis on Steve against all his cases, to see if anything stands out but so far nothing."

"Keep us posted, Jerry," Kono said, allowing Jerry to leave the room.

Danny rubbed his face before he turned to Chin who was suddenly quiet. "Chin, you got something?"

Chin looked up as he tossed the report he was reading to the table on the side. "Say that Steve is my target," he said.

Kono and Danny listened intently to Chin.

"But everyone here knows Steve's value, if I'm going to take him out, I will have the Task Force, HPD, and even the Navy coming after me, considering all this will I still be stupid enough to pull this stunt in public leaving witnesses behind? Wouldn't it be easier for me if I just take him out when he's alone?"

"If you take him out while he's alone, everyone will know you are targeting him, but if you pull something like this in public, it buys some time, diverts HPD attention maybe?" Kono shrugged.

"It's kind of hard to believe considering Steve was the only one who got shot." Chin stopped, thought for a second before he continued, "Maybe I don't really know who I am shooting at."

"Chin, what are you saying?" Danny asked.

"It caught me when I read the note left by Duke on Lea's statement. According to Duke, Lea said that she had never seen Charlie's father before, in the park, she thought that Steve was Charlie's father."

Danny took in a shaky breath, his brows knit in confusion.

Chin walked up to Danny and placed his hand on Danny's shoulder. "Danny, this weekend, it was supposed to be your time with the kids, right?"

Danny nodded before he started to walk back and forth, explaining. "Yeah, and Charlie always makes the plan. Me and Grace, we just follow whatever he says. So, like always we had plans for this week, but Grace asked me if we could include Rachel in some of the activities, she didn't want her mother to be alone after Stan left, so I asked her and she told me about the meeting with the lawyer. I volunteered to go with her while the kids stay with Steve."

"Okay," Chin nodded. "Danny, you said Charlie always makes the plans, so do you guys go to the park often?"

"He likes the new playhouse installed in the park, so all those Saturdays he's with me, he asks and I take him to the park."

"Every time he's with you?" Chin asked again for confirmation.

"Yes Chin, every time." Danny snapped a little.

"Danny, what if Steve was not the real target?" Chin whispered, looking intently at Danny.

Danny's eyes widen, the questions Chin was asking were starting to make sense. The realization hit him hard. "You're saying I was the target?"

"He was driving your car, he was with your kids, Danny."

"So, you're saying he took the bullets meant for me?" Danny's voice broke a little.

"All I'm saying," Chin dropped the tone in his voice. "It's worth looking into."

"No, no," Danny mumbled as he walked back and forth again, like a wild animal in a cage. "This can't be it, so you're saying someone out there has a grudge against me but doesn't know what I look like?"

"Maybe the middle men don't know you. Maybe your car, your kids were their cues," Chin suggested.

"It doesn't make any sense," Danny barked as he continued to pace again.

"I'm sorry Danny, you're probably going to hate me but I have to ask you another question," Chin continued. "You said Stan left for LA feeling pissed with all that happened, do you think he is capable of planning something like this?"

Chin's question made Danny stop dead in his tracks.

* * *

 _ **About Steve? Coming up in the next chapter. All feedback are appreciated. Thank you for your time.**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Author note:**_

 ** _Hello, everyone. E_** ** _nglish is not my first language, so be easy on me. Thanks for those who have taken time to review and follow the story._**

 ** _Please review if you have time again, all feedback are appreciated._**

 ** _Have a nice day._**

* * *

"This is insane." Rachel expressed as she walked back and forth in the hospital room that she, Danny and Chin had gathered in. Danny had explained to her what they found out so far and Rachel just couldn't digest the idea that Stan might be involved.

"Rachel, I know it sounds totally obscure, but I just want you to think about it." Danny said, "Do you think Stan is capable of doing something like this?"

Rachel stopped pacing and turned to Danny. "Danny, if you're asking, was he pissed? Yes, he was. Did Stan and I fight? Yes, probably worse than we have before, but putting the kids in harm's way? No, Danny, that's not Stan. He loved the kids."

"Rachel," Chin stepped in, he knew Danny himself was struggling with the idea. "I'm sorry, I can only imagine how hard this must be for you, but trust me; we have to look at all the possibilities."

"I know, Chin." Rachel sighed. "But it can't be Stan, I'm telling you." Rachel looked back at Danny. "If he was really that angry and thought about killing, he would have killed me or or shot Danny in the face when he was alone. Danny, you of all people should know how much he loved Grace and Charlie. No matter how angry he was, he would never put the kids in harm's ways."

"I know, it's okay," Danny whispered, gently rubbing Rachel's back as he exchanged looks with Chin. They need evidence to link Stan to the incidence, they can't depend on assumptions.

Chin nodded, he was still determined to look into the matter.

Rachel inhaled, everything that had happened was beginning to take a toll on her. "How about the black van? Can you find anything on it? Maybe that can lead you somewhere?"

"Yes, about that." Chin cleared his throat. "Danny, Rachel, I was hoping to ask Grace a few questions."

"Absolutely not." Rachel's voice rose for a second and she frowned, she didn't hear any objection from Danny. She turned to him. "Danny, you can't be possibly be thinking about talking to her about this, you know what she is going through."

"I know what she is going through Rachel, which is why it is important for her to talk about it. Look, I'm not thrilled about this idea either, but right now, she's the best lead we've got."

"She just woke half an hour ago, almost had hysterical breakdown thinking her Uncle Steve had died. It took another fifteen minutes for me and Captain Grover to calm her and now, you want to ask her questions about what happened?" Rachel burst out.

The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. She saw the look on both Chin and Danny's faces and she knew that they were right. As much as she hated to make Grace relive those horrible moments, she knew it would be healthy if Grace talked, and got it out of her system.

"Fine," Rachel whispered. "Just be careful with her."

-H50-H50-H50-

Grace was alone in her room. Charlie had gone down to the cafeteria with Captain Grover and her mother had stepped out to have a word with her father and she couldn't help but to appreciate the moment of silence. Grace was feeling numb. There was still no news about her Uncle Steve, and it was driving her crazy. Something kept coming to mind, it felt like something important but she couldn't quite remember it. Sitting on the bed, Grace was playing with her food on the tray when the door was opened and Danny walked in followed by Rachel and Chin.

"Danno," she called. "Did you see the doctor? Is Uncle Steve going to be okay? Can I see him?" She bombarded him with questions.

"Not yet, monkey." Danny sat on the bed, smiled a little, and then took her hands into his. "He's still in surgery."

Grace frowned. "But it has been a couple of hours, they should have at least told us something."

Danny sighed, he wished she was still a little girl, that little girl who was easier to convince. "Grace, it's a long surgery, and one of the nurses said she will find us as soon as she knows something, so we will just have to wait." Danny mentally snorted at himself, thinking about how he almost threatened the nurses for information and now he was telling Grace to be patient.

"Grace," Danny called softly. "We would like to ask some question if it's okay with you."

Grace nodded and Danny took it as a good sign.

"Can you remember what happened?" Danny asked carefully.

"Ermm." Grace mumbled, "I can't remember much, we were at the swing, Uncle Steve was pushing Charlie, I was recording it, then suddenly Uncle Steve shouted, he threw us down, I didn't see much."

"Grace, do you remember seeing a black van?" Chin asked.

"Black van?" Grace asked and Danny nodded. Grace closed her eyes as she tried to access her memory. "I don't know. It's all like flashes of light, I can't remember much. Is it important?"

"It's okay, Grace," Chin assured her. "You have been through a lot, it's normal not being able to remember. Perhaps your memory is trying to suppress itself."

"I want to help, but I can't get anything out of my brain, everything is kind of hazy. I've been trying to remember ever since I woke up, but it's all just like bits and pieces."

"It's okay, Grace." Danny tried to comfort his daughter.

"No, it's not okay, Danno." Grace snapped. "If it was me, Uncle Steve would do anything to help because he loves me and I love him too, so there's got to be a way for me to remember."

"Perhaps we could try hypnosis," Chin suggested and he knew Danny wouldn't be happy with his suggestion.

"Chin, we can't do that," Danny objected,

"Can it help me to remember, Uncle Chin?" Grace interrupted.

"It helps to recover repressed memories."

"Then, I will do it," Grace said. "Danno, I want to help, Uncle Steve saved my life, Charlie's life, and it's my turn to do something for him."

"It's not that simple, Grace." Danny tried to explain to her.

"I understand why you don't want me to do it," Grace whispered as she looked up at him. "I'm sorry about how I reacted in the waiting room."

"Hey, it's okay," Danny quickly reassured his daughter, "What you went through today, it's...it's..." Danny inhaled, he couldn't complete the sentence.

Grace nodded, picking up Danny's unsaid meaning. "It was kind of hard to believe, one moment we were all laughing and the next moment everything changed." Grace sniffed. "It just made me realize nothing is permanent, whatever that you thought was yours, it can be taken away from you in just one second."

Danny inhaled a shaky breath as he listened to Grace pouring out her heart.

"You know, I can't remember the last time I told that I love him," Grace's voice broke with tears welling up in her eyes,

"Monkey," Danny hugged his daughter as she buried her face in his shoulder.

"Do you think he knows, Danno?" She cried over his shoulder. "That I love him although I don't tell him often?"

"He knows, Grace." Danny's cleared his throat, trying to hide his own emotions. "He knows that you love him so much."

"Which is why I have to do this," Grace pulled away from the hug and wiped her tears. "Even if I have to relive the worst memories. I'm not weak, I can be strong just like him, like you. You have to let me do it."

Danny sighed, he knew Grace was determined. He glanced at Rachel briefly and when she nodded, Danny agreed. "Can you arrange for it, Chin?"

"I'll make the call," Chin said and everyone looked up at the door when they heard a knock and an elderly nurse's face appeared.

"Excuse me, my name is Nora. I was told to come here if I have information on Commander McGarrett."

-H50-H50-H50-

Danny's heart was pounding as he followed Nora to Dr. Sarah's room. The moment Nora had said that Steve's doctor requested to meet Danny privately first, Danny knew, it was not going to be good.

It took him some time to convince Grace to wait. She wanted so badly to know what happened that she could hardly sit on the bed the moment Nora introduced herself. Thankfully, Nora stepped in and eased the situation.

Danny fiddled with his own fingers all the way to the doctor's room. He was pretty sure he was just moments away from having a nervous breakdown.

"Dr. Sarah, Dr. Connor, Detective Williams is here." Nora greeted her doctors before she allowed Danny to walk into the room.

Dr. Sarah quickly rose from her chair and shook Danny's hand. "Have a seat Detective." She gestured to the seat.

Danny cleared his throat. "Two doctors, private room, asking me to take a seat first, so I guess it's bad."

Both Dr. Sarah and Dr. Connor smiled sympathetically.

"Just tell me one thing, is he going to be okay?" Danny whispered.

"He's hanging in there, Detective."

"Please just Danny, call me Danny." Danny rubbed his face, preparing to hear the worst. "So, tell me."

"Commander McGarrett came in with trauma to his neck, shoulder, and hip. He was quite lucky with the two lower level entry wounds. The one in his shoulder, the bullet nicked the deltoid muscle; it's the muscle forming the rounded contour of the shoulder. No major damage and we were able to patch it up. Same goes to the one in his hip, the bullet nicked his gluteus minimus muscle, it's the secondary muscles that produces hip extension. Luckily, the bullet doesn't cause any damage to the superior gluteal nerve, so with proper rest and therapy, he will be fine." Dr. Sarah explained, and stopped for a moment, allowing Danny to digest the information because she knew he was about to hear the worst.

Danny nodded, "I guess he wasn't as lucky with the one in his neck?"

Dr. Sarah nodded and whispered, "I will let Dr. Connor explain it to you."

"Danny." Dr. Connor called, getting Danny's attention "How much do you know about the spinal cord?"

* * *

 _ **I won't be able to post during the weekend, will be back next week. All feedback are appreciated. Thank you for your time.**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Author note:**_

 ** _Hello, everyone. English is not my first language, so be easy on me._** ** _Thanks for those who have taken time to review and follow the story._**

 ** _All the medical information was based on few websites, e.g. Southern Medical Journal, Shepherd Center, Johns Hopkins Medicine and Craig Hospital._**

 ** _I'm so anxious about this chapter, not sure why. Do let me know what you guys think. Please review if you have time, all feedback are appreciated._**

 ** _Have a nice day._**

* * *

 _How much do you about the spinal cord?_

Danny's heart skipped a beat, perhaps another beat and then it started pounding frantically.

"Spinal c…cord?" Danny stammered. His gaze faltered, dropped away. "Not much but I do know that it is one important stuff. Why…Why are we talking about spinal cord now? The wound is just to his neck, right?" Danny took an unsteady breath, his physical features clearly showed that he was restless.

"Danny, Commander's injury to the neck was consistent with zone II neck injury, resulting in hypotension and extensive neck hematoma and a lacerated left external jugular vein, which was ligated but unfortunately, the initial radiographic studies showed a bullet fragment dispersed in the left side of the neck and caused a slight fractures of the cervical spine at the levels of C5."

Danny rubbed his forehead as he pressed his lips together. There was no such thing as being mentally prepared to hear the worst. It's all a lie. Nothing can prepare you to hear the news that was about to change your life and the life of your loved ones once for all. "C5?" He frowned, his face begging for more information.

"Cervical spine level 5." Dr. Connor replied. "Here, look at this." Dr. Connor took a paper from his desk and showed it to Danny. The paper illustrated the spinal column anatomy. Pointing particularly to the cervical spine region, Dr. Connor continued, "The cervical spine is comprised of seven vertebrae: C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, and C7. These vertebrae begin at the base of the skull and extend down to the thoracic spine. The cervical vertebrae have cylindrical bones that lie in front of the spinal cord and stack up one on top of the other to make one continuous column of bones in the neck."

Dr. Connor drew in a breath before he resumed, "At each level, the vertebrae protect their segment of the spinal cord and work with muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints to provide a combination of support, structure, and flexibility to the neck. Usually, a bullet has the capacity to cut through the spinal cord but in Commander's case, I would say he is extremely, I repeat extremely lucky that the bullet stopped by the bone."

"So, if the bullet stopped by the bone, that's mean the spinal cord itself is safe, right?" Danny bit his lips.

"It's not that simple, Danny. Thankfully, the bullet didn't hurt his spinal cord but the fracture, it caused unnecessary pressure to his spinal cord at the point of injury."

Terror overtook Danny's face. "What are you saying, Doc? Just tell me clearly,"

Dr. Connor nodded. "Commander is suffering from cervical spine injury with an incomplete motor deficit at the C5 level. He may lose some function below the level of the injury, movement in one limb more than the other, feeling in parts of the body, or more function on one side of the body than the other."

"Wait," Terror wiped out color out of Danny's face. Realization dawned on his face. "Are you saying my best friend is paralyzed?"

"I'm sorry, Danny." Dr. Connor whispered.

Danny rose up from his chair, started pacing inside the room, and glanced around the room for once before he turned back to Dr. Connor. "No …no." Danny protested. "This can't be happening." His jaw tightened and his lower lip trembled.

"Again, I'm sorry, Danny. But Commander's sensory examination was intact for pin prick and light touch throughout which why it lead to me to classify him under incomplete spinal cord injury.

"Incomplete?" That particular word got Danny's attention.

"That means he does not have total paralysis or loss of sensation. His spinal cord was not totally damaged or disrupted. There's almost always hope of recovering at least some functions after a spinal cord injury."

"Almost always?" Danny let out a shaky laugh. "That's not comforting at all." Danny raised his voice but regretted the very next moment. "I'm sorry, I know you're just trying to help." His expression dulled. With a low voice, he whispered, "What are his chances?"

"About 2/3 of those with neck injuries who can feel the sharpness of a pin-stick in their legs eventually get enough muscle strength to be able to walk. Of those with neck injuries who can only feel light touch, about 1 in 8 may eventually walk."

"1 in 8 may eventually walk?" Danny huffed.

Dr. Connor remained silent. He knew it was not easy for anyone to accept any sudden life changing truths. He could understand Danny's reactions.

Danny leaned against the wall. "What kind of p… paralysis are we talking about?"

"Thankfully, the fracture was at the lower level of the cervical spine, so, he will be able to breathe on his own and speak normally but at the beginning, we need to keep an eye on his breathing pattern because his breathing will be weakened. At this stage, Commander is likely to have some or total paralysis of wrists, hands, trunk and legs. The extent of the paralysis, we will only be able to tell after some neurological examinations once he wakes up. He will need assistance with most activities of his daily living, but once in a power wheelchair, he will be able to move from one place to another independently."

 _Wheelchair_

Danny's jaw dropped. His whole face went blank. "He…He's Navy Seal. Most importantly, he's my partner, my best friend… my brother. He can't be in a wheelchair." His eyes swam with tears.

Dr. Connor stood up, walked to Danny and place a comforting hand on Danny's shoulder. "It's not easy. I know, I understand but unfortunately, this is the situation we are in now."

"How am I supposed to tell him this?" Danny's looked away, he didn't want Dr. Connor to know that he was fighting with tears.

-H50-H50-H50-

There was pin drop silence and Danny looked up. Sitting on the couch of the left, with his shoulders sagged, his chin propped on his hands, Lou looked lost in time.

Chin had his right hand jammed into his pants pocket and his left hand on Kono's shoulders. Kono's eyes were flooded with tears.

Danny cleared his throat. Chin, Kono, and Lou were the first ones to hear about Steve's condition. Danny looked towards the hallway and wondered what Racheal has been putting up to hold Grace in her room.

"Grace wants to know, she even wanted to follow me to the doctor's room." Danny looked at the others. "I don't know what I am going to tell her."

The others looked understandingly at Danny. They were lost of words to comfort Danny.

Danny looked back down at the table in front of him. His eyebrows snapped together as his face suddenly reddened. "When we find the person who's responsible for this, I'm going rip him alive!" Danny hissed before he slammed his hand on the table. The hit to the table was so strong that a glass of water danced on the table before it fell down, breaking into pieces. The sound of the glass shattering broke the silence of the waiting room and filled each of them with personal rage.

-H50-H50-H50-

"Danno," Grace called the moment she saw him walking into the room. She raised her voice but careful enough not to wake the sleeping Charlie on the couch.

"Hey, monkey." Danny greeted, he forced a smile. "Aren't you supposed to be asleep already?"

Grace pouted. "How is Uncle Steve?"

"Ah, Grace…" Danny walked and sat on the edge of the bed.

With her hand still on Charlie, Racheal leaned forward, she also wanted to know.

"He's going to be okay, right? Can I see him tomorrow?" Her eyes were vibrating, hoping for good news.

Danny wished the world would just freeze. How could he tell her? How could he make her understand? Will she be able to take in?"

"Uncle Steve…he..."

"Danno, tell me!" Grace snapped, her eyes were plastered on Danny.

"He's hurt but he's going to be okay." Danny lied, he couldn't bring himself to tell her the truth.

Silence filled in the room for a moment. Grace wrapped her arms over her chest as she shook her head. "You're lying."

Danny jerked his head in the direction of Grace. His eyes went wide.

"Your shoulders slumped, you're avoiding my eyes, and your voice, it's not confident."

Danny looked at Grace and found her eyes bored into him.

"Tell me the truth. What's wrong with Uncle Steve?"

* * *

 _ **All feedback are appreciated. Thank you for your time.**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Author note:**_

 ** _Hello, everyone. English is not my first language, so be easy on me._** ** _Thanks for those who have taken time to review and follow the story._**

 ** _There was internet disruption while posting Chapter 8 so, if anyone was not aware, you can go and read Chapter 8 first._**

 ** _Please review if you have time, all feedback are appreciated._**

 ** _Have a nice day._**

* * *

Danny wiped the tears leaked down his cheek with his right hand as his left arm was still holding Grace against his chest who had cried herself to sleep. He gently laid Grace back on her bed and covered her with the blanket provided. He pressed a gentle kiss on her forehead before he walked to the corner of the room and stood by the window.

He felt a comforting hand on his shoulder. His head turned slightly and his eyes were locked with Rachael's. Her eyes were red too. "I'm sorry, Danny." Her voice was soothing.

Danny simply nodded. He was too afraid to talk, he was scared if he would break down in anyone's arms but he can't break down. He needed something to keep him going. Grace's breakdown after knowing Steve's real condition after the shooting had only added more fuel to his burning rage. His inner fire began to flame up again. Rachael pulled her hand away when she could feel the tense on Danny's shoulders. His hands tightened into fists and his chest rose and fell with rapid breaths.

"I'm going to Steve's room. Keep an eye on the kids," Danny whispered and walked out of the room before Rachael could even reply him.

-H50-H50-H50-

Danny yawned as the time began to crawl past midnight. His body, his mind was begging for rest but he knew sleep was the last thing on his mind. Danny began to pace outside Steve's private and protected room to divert him from his own wild thoughts. Two HPD officers guarding the room could literally see Danny's tense but they choose silence.

Nora, Steve's nurse, stepped out of the room. "He settled in the room but he is still unconscious," Nora's words stopped Danny's pacing. "Make it a quick one, Detective. You can come back in tomorrow." With an understanding smile, she walked way leaving him to battle with his emotions.

 _It's okay if he's still unconscious, at least I can spare him from knowing what had happened to him._

Danny stepped inside the room and closed the door but then, with his hand on the knob, eyes on the door and his back to Steve, Danny allowed his emotions to rule him at least for once. He stood there, frozen, unable to turn around, scared if he will completely lose it.

 _Uncle Steve would want you beside him more than anyone else._

 _Promise me, you will stand beside him for as long as he needs you._

 _Danno, you are the one he needs._

Grace's words echoed in his ears. He took a deep breath and turned around and a small audible gasp escaped from his mouth. In front of him on the bed, lay his best friend hooked up on machines, a lot of them. Tears began to well up as he walked over. Standing beside the bed, Danny grimaced when he saw the neck brace used to immobilize Steve's neck. The rigid brace was molded by plastic with a removable padded liner in two pieces, a front and back piece and was fastened with Velcro. His left hand was in a sling and a thick bandage secured his left shoulders. The bandage around his hip was hidden by the blanket pulled up to his chest.

"Hey babe," Danny cleared his throat. His voice sounded horrible. Sitting on the chair beside the bed, Danny took Steve's right hand into his.

 _He may lose some function below the level of the injury, movement in one limb more than the other, feeling in parts of the body, or more function on one side of the body than the other_

As Danny's gently gripped Steve's fingers, Danny's heart hurt when he remembered Dr. Connor words. He wondered if Steve could feel that Danny was holding his hand.

"I'm so sorry that all this happened to you, Steve. I need you to fight, you hear me?" Danny blinked allowing the tears stream down his cheeks.

-H50-H50-H50-

"You're sure Ms. Williams is willing to do this?" asked Emma, Chin's friend. "Because hypnosis only works if the subject is willing and cooperative."

"She is more than willing and she is waiting for you."

"Okay let's do it then but you will have to wait with her dad outside the interview room." Emma nodded before opened the door and stepped into the interview room.

"Ms. Grace, Detective Williams," greeted Emma as she shook Danny's hand.

"Danny, Grace, this is my friend, Emma. She's a forensic hypnotist for HPD." Chin introduced and nudged Danny's hand. "We will wait outside."

Danny gave Grace encouraging a smile and a pat on her shoulder. "I'm proud of you." He said before he exchanged a smile with Emma and walked out of the room with Chin.

Emma gestured Grace to sit and she sat down facing Grace. "How are you feeling, Grace? Nervous?"

"I am," Grace admitted. "I don't know what to do, what to expect."

Emma smiled. "You don't have to do anything, Grace. You just have to trust me."

"Okay," Grace shrugged.

"Grace, have you ever experienced where you see an actor on the TV and you are sure that you know his name but you can't just recall his name. The more you think about it, the more it drives you crazy. You got so frustrated that you decided to just leave it but then, sometime after when you least think about it, you happened to remember his name. Tell me it's happened to you before,"

"Most of the time."

"There you see." Emma smiled again. "We're going to just relax, and let the memories come to you."

Grace bit her lips. "What if I can't relax?" She asked softly.

Emma raised her eyebrows. "Are you uncomfortable with anything?"

"As much as I want to go back to my memories, I'm concerned, what will happened if I …It's…" Grace stammered.

"Grace." Emma touched her arm. "Chin told me what happened and I know it was a traumatic experience for you, therefore I'm not going to make you relive it. Trust me."

"You're not?" Grace asked, slightly surprised. "But then how will you make me remember it?"

"I will approach it a different way. All you have to do it, trust me and trust my voice. Are you ready?"

"I guess."

On the other side of the room, Danny had his hands jammed into his pockets while Chin had taken out a paper and pen to note down important information.

"I want you to lie down and make yourself comfortable. When you are, close your eyes."

Grace did as she told and she closed her eyes. Danny had his eyes on Grace through the one way window.

"Take deep breaths and let it out slowly. Concentrate on my voice." Emma guided.

Grace's face began to relax but Danny's breathing quickened.

After some time guiding Grace the breathing, Emma said, "Grace, you're sitting on the chair, feeling completely relaxed. Now, in front of you, there is a wall, and the wall has a screen that would allow you to watch whatever scenes in your life that you want. You are in on the chair and what you're going to see is a just movie on the screen. All right?"

"Okay," Grace whispered softly.

"Now," Emma inhaled a quietly as possible. "We're going to go back to Saturday morning when Uncle Steve took you and Charlie to the park. Tell me what you see on the screen."

"Charlie ran to play with his friend, Sean. Uncle Steve and I, we were sitting on the bench. We were talking."

"About what?"

"About Stan leaving. He asked how I was coping and I was opening up to him, but then he was not listening to me."

"Why not?" Emma leaned forward.

"He was looking at something."

"What did you then, Grace?"

"I wanted to see what he was looking. I leaned forward … black van." Her breathing began to quicken.

Emma quickly guided Grace away from her fear. "You're sitting in a comfortable chair watching just a movie, Grace. Can you feel the comfortable cushion against your back?"

"Yes." Her reply came after some time.

"Okay, let's continue watching your movie. "Tell me what you see next…on the screen."

"I was looking at the black van too."

"Why, Grace? Why are you looking at the black van?"

"Because it looked familiar."

"You have seen it before?"

Grace nodded.

"Where?"

"Thursday afternoon, at mom's office."

Danny and Chin's eyebrows rose high.

"Grace, let's rewind the movie to Thursday afternoon, tell me more about the black van that you saw."

"I went to mommy's office after my group studies. I bought her favorite ice-cream. In the office parking lot, I saw this black van. Two men were sitting in."

"Grace, are you sure it's the same van? Can you see the number plate?"

Grace nodded. "TDR 391."

Chin quickly took his phone and stepped away. They just got the most vital information they needed.

Grace continued, "I went to open the main door but then a man yanked it open from the inside. He stepped outside, looking angry. Looking ahead him in the office, I saw mom standing at the reception. She wasn't happy either."

"Do you know who he was?" Emma asked.

Grace shook her head.

"But then just before he go, he turned to mom and said you will regret this. He turned around and realized that I was standing there. He looked at me for one moment ...I think he knows me."

"Why do you think he knows you, Grace?" Emma looked at the window, hoping the father noting the information.

"He smiled at me, that's ... one weird smile."

* * *

 _ **All feedback are appreciated. Thank you for your time.**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Author note:**_

 ** _Hello, everyone. English is not my first language, so be easy on me._** ** _Thanks for those who have taken time to review and follow the story._**

 _ **I'm not sure if this chapter has the alerts go out, hopefully it does.**_

 ** _Please review if you have time, all feedback are appreciated._**

 ** _Have a nice day._**

* * *

The hypnosis session had ended but Danny had the feeling that his worst nightmare has just begun. The information Grace had revealed took the case in a whole new direction. Danny couldn't help but feel more concerned. While waiting for Grace to walk out, Danny quickly dialed a number he knew well. While waiting for his call to be picked up, Danny tapped his fingers on the wall impatiently.

"Danny…"

"Lou, where are you?"

"In front Rachel's house, she just went in with Charlie. You were the one told me to drop them at her house."

Danny let out the breath he was holding. "Listen, Lou, I need you to pick her and Charlie up again and come to the Palace. Don't let them out of your sight and keep your eyes wide open, you might have company."

Lou's eyes began to scan the area for possible threats. "Danny, what is going on?"

"I don't know," He waved his hand in the air. "I have no idea until I talk to her, but I may have a reason to believe that Rachel might be the target all along."

"What?" Lou sighed. "Okay, I'm going to go back in and get them. Don't worry."

"Okay, thanks, buddy." Danny ended the call, and turned around to see Grace and Emma walking out of the interview room.

"Thank you very much." Danny shook Emma's hand. "I know it was a last minute call for you on your day off."

"You're welcome, Detective. I was just doing my job, especially when one of our own was involved. I hope you get these guys," She turned to Grace. "You did great, Grace."

Grace smiled, although it was not her usual smile.

"Excuse me," Emma nodded at both Danny and Grace before she walked away, leaving the father and daughter alone.

"Was any of the information I gave useful, Danno?" Grace asked, looking at Danny hopefully.

"What are you talking about? Of course, it was useful," Danny pulled Grace close to him and kissed the side of her head. "Let's go."

"Can you drop me back at the hospital?"

Danny frowned. "Grace, you were already discharged before we left just now."

"I know," Grace nodded, "but I didn't get a chance to see Uncle Steve. You have a job to do, so you can't sit with him. I will stay with him until you come back."

"Grace, I know you want nothing more than to see him, but I think it would be better if you…" Danny was struggling to explain to her, not that he didn't want her to sit with him. When Steve opened his eyes, seeing Grace first would assure him that the kids were okay but he was a bit concerned, he didn't know if Grace would be able to handle seeing Steve like that.

"Why Danno? Is something wrong?"

Grace had been through a lot since yesterday and he knew keeping things from her was only going to make things worse.

"It's just that …I'm worried about you seeing him like that. I saw how hard things were for you yesterday; I just want to spare you. It's not easy seeing him like that."

"I know," She hugged her father. "I'm sorry, I cried a lot in front of you, but Danno," she pulled away and looked straight into his eyes, "I held Uncle Steve bleeding in my arms, not knowing if he would make it or not, so I don't think anything else would scare me more.

Danny shoved his hands in his pockets. He knew she was determined, "I'll have to talk to the doctor, see if they will allow you in today."

"I already spoke to Nora. She said I can go in."

Danny raised his eyebrows. "When did that happen?"

"This morning when you stepped out for coffee with Uncle Chin. Let's go."

Danny watched as Grace walked to the front door. Something about her had changed and he hoped it was good.

-H50-H50-H50-

Danny accompanied Grace up to Steve's private room and stopped in front of the door. "You're sure you will be alright?"

"I will be once you've caught the guys who did this." Grace gave Danny a hug before she walked in, leaving Danny alone with the HPD officers.

Danny looked at the two HPD officers guarding the room. "Listen up, that's my daughter, Grace and she will stay with the Commander until further notice. Although we have a new direction in the case, do not stand down until you receive a direct order from me. Understand?"

"Loud and clear, Sir." The first HPD officer replied. "Any leads on finding these guys?"

"We may have one, therefore, I have to leave," Danny looked back and forth. "Take care, alright?"

"We will, Sir." The second HPD officer gave his word.

Danny nodded as he patted the HPD officer's arm and walked away, pulling out his phone. "Chin, where are we on the van's status?"

"I ran the license plate and came up with an address. Live satellite image showed the van parked on the property. I'm heading there now with HPD backup."

Danny thrust his fists in the air. "Good, but I want them alive, you hear me?"

"Copy that and Kono is on the way to Rachel's office as we speak. She will get the CCTV footage and try to run facial recognition."

"Great," Danny mentally thanked God and couldn't help but feel proud of his daughter for the information she had given. "I'm heading back to the office. I'm going to talk to Rachel. Lou is bringing her over. Call me back with some good news."

"I will," Chin said before he ended the call.

-H50-H50-H50-

Tears welled up as she held her hand over her mouth but she forced herself not to break down. No, she would not break down. Grace slowly walked in and saw Nora checking on some machines before she picked up a bowl and gently applied a small ice cube to Steve's dry lips.

"Can I do that?" Grace asked softly.

"Oh," Nora jumped a little before she turned around. "Didn't realize that you were back, sweetie."

"Sorry, I tried not to make any noise." Grace placed her sling bag on the chair.

"Sure, here." Nora handed the small bowl of ice cubes to Grace. "I will be right outside, at the nurses' station. Press the call button if you need anything." Nora smiled sadly before she started to walk outside.

"Has he woken up yet?" Grace's question stopped Nora at the door.

"Not yet, and it might take some time but hopefully by the end of the day or tomorrow."

Grace nodded, "Is there anything else I can do to help him?"

"Just be there for him, let him know that he is not alone." With that, Nora walked out quietly closing the door after sharing an encouraging smile.

Grace turned back to the bed and walked to his right side before she sat on the edge of the bed. Carefully, she took one ice cube and wiped it against Steve's dry lips. She repeated the act a few times before she placed the bowl back on the table. She blinked, causing the tears threatening the corners of her eyes to flow down, but she quickly wiped them away. She continued to stare at his unconscious face before she carefully bent down and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you for saving me and Charlie, Uncle Steve." Grace whispered "You did great."

She moved and sat on the chair before she took his uninjured right hand into hers. She continued to hold his hand, she held it up and brought the back of his hand to her cheek. "We are all in this together with you. You are not alone. I love you, Uncle Steve."

-H50-H50-H50-

Rachel sat down on the chair afraid her weak legs may give way. She looked up at Danny, shocked.

"Rachel, how come you didn't tell me anything about a man walking into your office, threatening you?"

"Danny, I have a lot of things going on with Stan leaving, and honestly, I didn't expect things to go this far."

"Rachel, you need to tell me everything. Who's the guy who threatened you on Thursday?"

"I didn't know him personally but he said he was the attorney of Brandon. Brandon Udell." Rachel clarified.

"Who the hell is he?"

"He's a real estate developer. I found out that he was undervaluing property, it's real estate fraud." Rachel explained.

"So, what did you do?"

"I filed a report with the planning department, supposed to hand in my evidence on Saturday morning after my divorce paperwork."

"Is that the matter the lawyer tried to speak to you about before we came to the hospital?"

Rachel nodded.

"So, you filed a report against him and if you manage to hand over evidence, that's the end of his career?"

Rachel nodded again. "The deparment said if my evidence against him is solid, they will file a police report."

"Sounds like a good motive to me."

Rachel closed her eyes, shook her head as she rubbed her temple. "It's all my fault."

"Hey," He knelt in front of her. "It's not your fault, you did the right thing."

"Oh, yeah?" she nibbled on her bottom lip, feeling frustrated. "Look where it has landed all of us, especially Steve. What happened to him is my fault. How can I ever look past that?" Rachel turned away. "Grace and Charlie were just inches away from being killed."

Danny sighed. He knew nothing that could be said to comfort her, no words could ease the pain.

Kono watched all that was happening from the smart table. She didn't want to interrupt but she found some information that Danny would want to hear.

She knocked on the glass door and gave the door a little push. "Danny, I ran facial recognition from Rachael's office, CCTV footage, and got a hit and he is not Brandon's attorney." She showed them the image via her iPad. "Meet Ray Falcon, he has several priors including aggravated assault."

"You got the address? Can we go and say hi?"

"I can't get a current address,but I'm working on it. In the meantime, Chin called, they got the van and two guys, Aaron Fisher and Jackie Taylor. He's bringing them in."

"That's fantastic news. So, we got two guys from the van, another guy that poses as an attorney, and one real estate developer, Brandon. Can't wait to tear them apart."

* * *

 _ **All feedback are appreciated. Thank you for your time.**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Author note:**_

 ** _Hello, everyone. English is not my first language, so be easy on me._** ** _Thanks for those who have taken time to review and follow the story._**

 ** _Please review if you have time, all feedback are appreciated._**

 ** _Have a nice day._**

* * *

Danny splashed a handful of water over his face. He shut off the tap and looked at the mirror. His reflection looked back, mocking him. He looked terrible, pale with shadows under his eyes and he was mentally and physically exhausted. If he could, he would crawl into his bed and never come out for the next couple of days, but he just had to suck it up at the moment. Catching the people who had hurt his family was the only thing driving him despite the tiredness.

But it wasn't that easy.

The first round of interrogations was unsuccessful. Neither Chin or Lou could get anything out of Aaron and Jackie except for the word lawyer.

"I got a report from the lab."

Danny looked away from the mirror and saw Jerry standing at the door.

"Both Aaron's and Jackie's fingerprint are all over the van. The lab even matched the gun Chin found at the house to the slug the doctor took out of Steve. As for the gun, they found Aaron's fingerprints, he did the shooting."

"Jerry, that's great." Danny took the report from Jerry. "Thanks, buddy."

"I managed to track down Jackie's parents." Jerry continued. "According to them, he's a good kid, just had some bad influences in his life. He used to be close to them. I think you can play the parent card with him."

"Really, thanks, Jerry."

Jerry shrugged. "Steve would do the same thing for me."

Inhaling, gathering the strength he needed, Danny walked out. He went back into the office to inform Chin, but saw Charlie sitting on the couch in Steve's office. Rachel was sitting beside Charlie and was talking to him.

Danny signaled Chin to wait for him before he walked into Steve's room and sat beside Charlie, exchanging a little smile with Rachel. She still seemed disturbed after the conversation they just had, honestly, who wouldn't be?

"Hey, buddy." Danny ruffled Charlie's hair.

"Hey, Danno." The little boy looked up.

"I'm sorry I couldn't spend time with you." Danny apologized, with all that had happened Danny wasn't really able to comfort Charlie personally.

"It's okay. Mommy told me that you're trying to catch the bad guys who hurt Uncle Steve."

Danny looked up and his eyes locked with Rachel's. She nodded.

"Yes," Danny admitted.

"Is Uncle Steve going to be okay?" Charlie asked. His voice was a little hesitant.

Danny sighed inwardly. He knew that there was no point lying, Charlie had seen way too much, and was too little to understand what had happened to Steve.

"Of course, he's going to be okay." Danny pulled the boy onto his lap. "But it's going to take some time and that's why he is in the hospital. The doctor and nurses are going to take good care of him just like how they took care of you yesterday."

Charlie nodded. "Can we go see him?" He asked, looking hopeful.

Danny sighed, he expected the question. "We will, but it's just that the doctor has given Uncle Steve some medicine and he is sleeping. You remember some time back when you were sick in the hospital, the doctor gave you some good medicine and you slept a lot and you felt better after waking up?"

Charlie nodded again, remembering his own stay at the hospital.

"So, we will let him sleep for some time, okay?"

"Okay." Charlie nodded. The little boy looked up again after a moment, "I don't like the playhouse in the park anymore."

Danny hugged his son and kissing his head. "What happened in the park is not your fault, Charlie." He kissed Charlie's head before he looked into his son's eyes. "It's the bad guys' fault and I promise you I will catch them."

-H50-H50-H50-

Danny shoved Aaron harshly up against the wall before putting him in a choke hold. "I'm going to ask you just one more time."

"Danny!" Lou hissed, shocked with Danny's sudden outburst. He pulled Danny's hands away from Aaron's throat just in time.

Aaron's legs gave out. He crashed onto the floor, gasping for breath.

Jackie swallowed, watching the scenes from the chair he was sitting in a few feet away. Fear crawled down his spine.

"Look," Chin sat on his heels in front of Jackie. "The lab processed your van and found your fingerprints. Just to let you know, HPD even found the gun you guys buried behind the house. The bullet is a match to the slug the doctor pulled out of Commander McGarrett, so why don't you do yourself a favor and tells us the truth."

"C…Commander?" Jackie stammered, looking at Chin. "What are you talking about? Who is he?"

"He is the one you guys shot yesterday, you dumbass," Danny shouted before he gritted his teeth. "You don't even know who you were shooting at?"

"Danny, easy," Lou whispered to Danny's ears.

Danny closed his eyes, allowing himself to control his burning rage, "Look …"

"Like we said the last time. We. Want. A. Lawyer." Aaron shouted from the back.

"Lou, get him out of here right now!" Danny barked.

"Don't you open your mouth, Jackie," Aaron shouted as Lou dragged him out of the room.

Danny walked and stood beside him. "Look, we talked to your parents,"

Jackie's facial expression changed suddenly and Danny took it a good sign to play this card. "They told us how good you used to be, it's just that you had some bad influences in your life. You don't want to help us? It's fine, but do your parents a favor, don't betray their trust again."

Jackie bit his lip nervously.

"Tell us the truth, we can put in a good word for you, perhaps reduce your sentences, you can come out and take care of your parents." Danny tried again.

"It's not easy, man. Ray, he will kill me."

"That is why you need to help us catch him," Danny said as he was kneeling down. "I'm begging you, please. Look, we didn't find your prints on the gun, which means you didn't fire the shots, but are you willing to take the blame for Aaron while Brandon and Ray walk away? Your choice."

Danny waited for Jackie to fall for the bait. He hoped Jackie would.

"Brandon never gave us orders," Jackie started after some time. "We only got the orders through Ray. Brandon never deals with us directly. Even with Ray, Aaron was the one who handles him."

"Okay," Danny nodded. "What were you doing outside of Rachel's office on Thursday afternoon?"

"Ray told us to wait for him there. He said he wanted to see if he could sort things."

"Let me guess," Chin spoke in between, "Ray tried to persuade Rachel to drop the report she made on Brandon."

Jackie nodded. "But the lady, she wouldn't budge."

"So, what's was the plan?" Danny shrugged. "To shoot me to threaten her?"

Jackie's raised his eyebrows. "You?"

"Yes me, you dumbass," Danny growled. "I'm Rachel's ex-husband, I'm the one who was supposed to be at the park with the kids, but then my partner …" Danny turned away.

Jackie bit his lips, "You weren't the target."

"What?" Danny turned around.

"The girl, she was the target."

Danny was swallowed by wrath the moment he heard the word, "YOU CRAZY SON OF A BITCH,"

Chin caught Danny just before he could jump on Jackie. Danny struggled, fought against Chin's strong arms.

"She was the one Ray showed us outside Rachel's office. The next day, Ray told us where she would be, what we should do. She was the one Aaron was going to shoot but, the guy, he saw us when Aaron pulled the gun on her. He shielded her, and people started shouting, so we ran."

"Jackie, where can we find Ray?" Chin asked.

"I don't know."

"You better give me something!" Danny barked. He pushed away Chin's hand harshly before he paced like a wild animal in the room.

Just when Danny was about to open his mouth, Kono came barging into the room. "Danny, we got a problem."

"What is it, Kono?" Danny gave Kono his full attention. Her expression told him something was wrong.

"The APB on Ray just got a hit,"

"Where is he?"

"He's at Tripler!"

-H50-H50-H50-

Grace was just waking up from a nap when Nora walked in.

"Sweetie," Nora smiled, "I'm going out for my break, do you need anything?"

"I'm good, Nora. Thank you." Grace mumbled as she turned to look at Steve.

Nora was just about to walk out when Grace suddenly jumped from the chair she was sitting in and leaned over Steve.

"What's wrong, Grace?"

"His eyelids moved." Grace said before she looked down again, "Uncle Steve, wake up, I'm right here." She held his good hand.

Nora smiled, her heart melted for the love the young girl had for her Uncle. She leaned over as well, hoping he would wake up, fulfilling the girl's wish.

Grace's breathing quickened and her heart was pounding when Steve's eyes were slowly starting to open. She touched his right cheek, guiding his disoriented eyes to hers.

"It's okay, Uncle Steve."

"Gra…cie," It was worse than a whisper, but it was enough for Grace.

"Try not to talk, Commander. Take it easy," Nora said before she smiled at Grace. "I will get Dr. Connor."

"It's okay, Uncle Steve. You're in the hospital," Grace tried to soothe Steve.

"Oh my God!" Nora cried. Grace looked up and saw Nora standing at the door with hands over her mouth.

"I will be back, Uncle Steve," Grace smiled at Steve before she ran over to the door. Grace gasped when she saw a pool of blood on the floor and the two HPD officers missing. Suddenly, the fire alarm started to wail.

"Nora, I need you to…" Grace spoke but stopped and her eyebrows hit the roof when she saw the man she had seen outside Rachel's office. Wearing the HPD officer's uniform he was turning into their hallway.

Grace's instincts kicked in. She pulled Nora back into the room and closed the door before he could see them. She locked the room, "Help me to barricade the door."

"Grace, what is going on?" Nora asked.

"He's here to …" Grace frowned, she doesn't really know who he was, what he wanted but whatever it was, she knew it was not good. "I don't know," Grace waved her hands in the air, "But what I do know, he's not an HPD officer, which means we are in trouble."

They quickly pulled the bigger couch in the corner and pushed it against the door. She knew it wouldn't hold for long. She needed to call her dad.

Grace ran back and pulled her phone from her bag. She saw ten missed calls from her father and she could guess why. She dialed back.

" _Grace!"_

"Danno, the man I saw outside mom's office is right outside with an HPD uniform on, you have to get here right now!" Grace spoke at full speed, alarmed and dropped the phone in shock when the door was knocked.

"Gra…cie," She heard the whisper again followed by beeping sounds from the machines.

"Hey, Uncle Steve," Grace took a big step towards the bed. She touched his cheek again. "It's going to be okay," She tried to smile but the smile died when they heard another knock on the door.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Steve," Grace whispered before she turned to Nora. "We need to put him to sleep. Put him back to sleep."

Nora looked hesitant. "Do it now, Nora!" Grace hissed.

The knock on the door was getting louder. Nora pressed the red button attached to the drip, allowing the pain medication to flow into Steve's drip.

Grace looked back into Steve's alarmed eyes. "I'm sorry, Uncle Steve but I have to do this. I will not let anything happen to you."

"Ms. Grace, we have an emergency situation here, you need to open the door."

* * *

 _ **All feedback are appreciated. Thank you for your time.**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**Author note:**_

 ** _Hello, everyone. English is not my first language, so be easy on me._** ** _Thanks for those who have taken time to review and follow the story._**

 ** _Sorry it took me a while to post the next chapter, went out for a trip with my friends._**

 ** _Please review if you have time, all feedback are appreciated._**

 ** _Have a nice day._**

* * *

" _Ms. Grace, we have an emergency situation here, you need to open the door."_

Grace's heart was pounding, she gripped the railing of Steve's bed harder. She looked down, Steve's eyes were closed. He had fallen asleep.

"Are you sure about this, Grace?" Nora asked, not that she didn't trust the girl, but for something like this to happen in Tripler was highly unusual.

The knock on the door increased to a thud on the door.

Nora's eyes grew wide as she looked back at Grace, "I see what you mean. What are we going to do?" She was slightly panicked.

"Danno is on his way, we just have to hold on," Grace wondered if it would really be that easy. "Stay here," Grace whispered before she went back to her bag and dug inside. She took the tiny bottle in her hand and looked back at the unconscious Steve. "Thanks, Uncle Steve."

Grace gripped the bottle harder. It was pepper spray. It was in fact given to her by Steve a few months back. When Steve had first given it to her, she had stared at him intently. She had no idea why he wanted her to have it, but he requested that she keep it with her at all times. He said it would come in handy.

The door was being forced open from the outside. She could see the handle being harshly turned. Grace swallowed. The person on the outside must have figured out that the door was locked from the inside.

Grace's eyes were glued to the door. The pounding stopped. For a moment, there was no movement, no sound, nothing except for the constant wailing of the irritating fire alarm. She knew the alarm was turned on just as a distraction.

Grace also knew that something drastic was about to happen.

A single gunshot rang through the door handle, followed by a harsh kick to the door.

Grace gasped.

Each kick to the door increased her heart rate. She needed to do something …something really fast. Grace looked around. In the spur of the moment, she snatched the flower vase on the table. With a flower vase in one hand and pepper spray in the other, Grace ran and stood on the right side of the door. Once the door was opened, it would be pushed to her side and that would give her some space to hide behind.

Nora, standing beside Steve's bed looked at Grace with her eyes wide. Grace held her finger to her lips, requesting Nora to remain silent. With a final kick from the outside, the door burst open, the couch toppled forward.

Ray walked in, kicking the couch out of his way. His eyes were on Nora. He raised his gun to her face, "Where is the girl?"

Holding her breath, Grace sneaked behind him, "Right behind you."

What happened next was beyond Grace's wild imagination. In a flash of light, Ray turned around with his gun still up in the air and Grace sprayed pepper right into his eyes.

"Ahh, my eyes." Ray cried as he grabbed at his face with his left hand, his gun hand wavered.

Using the distraction, Grace smashed the vase hard on his head before she punched him hard in the face, breaking his nose. Ray cried again, this time in agony before he fell down and that gave Grace enough the opportunity to snatch the gun. Taking the gun, Grace quickly stepped behind, beyond Ray's reach. She gripped the gun and aimed it at him.

"Make a move and I swear to God, I will shoot you," Grace warned.

-H50-H50-H50-

Danny jumped out of his car and ran in, followed closely by Chin, Kono, and Lou. It was total chaos. The fire alarm was blaring and people were crowding the entrances. Pushing past those people, almost knocking down some in between, Danny ran into the hospital. He turned into the private hallway where he could see a pool of blood on the floor. He made a sharp turn into the room and then stopped dead.

Grace was holding a gun, aiming it on Ray.

Chin pushed past Danny, turned Ray onto his back and cuffed him. "Ray Falcon, you're under arrest…"

Danny zoned out completely. He couldn't hear anything, see anything except for his little girl. She was shaking, tears poured down her cheeks the moment Kono pulled the gun out of her hand. Danny took a big step and brought her into his arms. She buried her face into his chest while he hugged her. But she didn't hug him back, she just stood there with her wet eyes staring right ahead.

-H50-H50-H50-

Danny's hands tightened into fists. The thought of Steve and Grace in danger yet again was enough to set him into a burning rage, but right now, he was more concerned about Grace. She was too calm after all that had happened to her, and it frighten Danny. He wasn't sure if she was really calm or if she was putting on a brave face for him.

"Danny," Chin's soft voice jolted Danny from his dazed state. "We're taking Ray back to the Palace. We will take care of the rest, right now your place is here with Grace." Chin jerked his head in the little girls direction. She was sitting silently on the couch in the waiting room.

Sadness clouded Danny's features. He sighed before he simply nodded.

Chin and others smiled sadly before they quietly left the waiting room. Danny drew in a long breath before he quietly walked and sat beside Grace.

"Hey."

She looked up, she had stopped crying but her eyes were still red. "Hey," She mumbled before she looked down again. She was playing with the ring on her finger.

Danny wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer and kissed her head.

"I was so scared," Her small voice croaked after some time.

"I know and I'm so sorry, Grace…"

"Wasn't your fault." She looked up and tried to smile. "You wouldn't have known."

They sat in silence for a moment before Danny whispered, "Nora told me what happened."

Grace nodded. She pushed her face against his chest and sighed. "I still can't believe what I did…"

"I guess I owe Uncle Steve a big thank you for teaching you some of those moves…and pepper spray…really? How come I didn't know about this?"

Grace chuckled, probably a genuine chuckle after all that had happened. "He told me not to make a fuss of it, just to keep it with me."

"I'm proud of you, Grace, so proud of you."

Their conversation ended as Dr. Connor walked towards them. Both jumped to their feet.

"Is he okay?" Grace asked concern was plastered all over her face. "I forced Nora to…"

"Grace, relax," Dr. Connor touched Grace's arm. "He's alright, just sleeping."

Danny let out the breath he was holding. He knew Grace was being hard on herself, she was scared that her decision further risked Steve's health.

Grace's tightened features relaxed.

"You did the right thing, Grace." Dr. Connor continued. "The situation would have been more stressful had he been awake."

"What happens now?" Danny asked.

"We will have to wait for him to wake again to run some tests. Those tests should be able to tell us his level of sensation and motor functions."

"Then?"

"Along with the natural healing process, we will start his physical therapy. I will continue to be his doctor, monitoring his health and managing any other health issues that may arise during therapy. I have already spoken to one of the best physiotherapist we have here, Ms. Michelle. She and her team of health care providers will design his physical therapy plan."

"Design?"

"Yes, Grace." Dr. Connor nodded to Grace. "Each spinal cord injuries is different, therefore we need therapy programs specific to each case. Don't worry, Danny, Ms. Michelle and her team are one of the best I know of. They have worked miracles in some patients."

"Thanks, Dr. Connor." Danny shook his hand. He already had a good impression of Dr. Connor and the motherly personality of Nora. Now, he hoped Ms. Michelle would fit into the group and work miracles for Steve.

-H50-H50-H50-

Steve expected pain, but surprisingly there was none. Everything felt numb. He tried to open his eyes, and after what it felt like an eternity, they barely opened. He could see a blurred figure which radiated the usual warmth.

"Steve, hang on, okay? I'm going to get the doctor."

The voice was so soft, so assuring and he knew the owner. It was Danny's.

Steve blinked a few times, finally being awake to the sound of raindrops. There was something really stiff and firm around his neck.

"Commander," He heard a new voice and his vision was greeted by a new face. "My name is Dr. Connor."

"W-hat happ-ened?" Steve rasped.

"You were shot, Commander."

The word 'shot' triggered his memories.

 _Grace, GET DOWN!_

The moment he saw the gun from the van, the moment he yanked Grace towards him before he threw her to ground and the moment he scooped Charlie from the swing all those painful scenes flashed before his eyes.

"Commander, the kids are okay." Dr. Connor quickly assured when Steve's heartbeat raised and machines began to yell. "Both Grace and Charlie are okay, I can even call Danny in and I promise you he will tell you the same thing."

Steve's heartbeat began to drop to his normal rate.

"That's it, slowly, inhale and exhale."

"How ba-d?" Steve asked although he already had the feeling that it must be pretty bad.

-H50-H50-H50-

Danny leaned against the wall. His eyes were glued to Steve's hospital door. It was still closed. Steve was probably conscious enough for Dr. Connor to explain his injuries.

Danny drew his lower lip between his teeth. His own thoughts began to overwhelm him, and just moments before he thought he would completely lose it, the door opened.

"How is he?"

"He is stable," Dr. Connor answered.

"Did you tell him?" Danny asked, hesitantly.

Dr. Connor nodded and it crushed Danny's, heart. Danny knew Steve would learn about his injuries sooner or later but still …

Danny sighed. "Can I see him?" He asked hopefully.

"Don't keep him up for too long. He needs his rest."

Danny didn't waste any more time, he quickly walked in and could see Steve's eyelids were barely open. He took Steve's good hand into his and looked into Steve's eyes.

Steve was struggling to keep his eyes open.

"It's okay, babe." Danny touched Steve's forehead and caressed it gently. "Go back to sleep, I'll be right here when you wake up."

Danny watched as Steve slowly drifted off. A tear ran down from the corner of Steve's eye. Danny wiped it away. "It's going to be okay," he whispered. He wasn't sure if he was reassuring Steve or himself.

* * *

 _ **All feedback are appreciated. Thank you for your time.**_


	13. Chapter 13

_**Author note:**_

 ** _Hello, everyone. English is not my first language, so be easy on me._** ** _Thanks for those who have taken time to review and follow the story._**

 ** _Please review if you have time, all feedback are appreciated._**

 ** _Have a nice day._**

* * *

Danny sipped his coffee he had just bought from the cafeteria and grimaced. He sighed before he pushed the paper cup away, there was no way he was going to finish it.

"I knew you would hate that," Chin's voice echoed from behind. "That's why I brought you real coffee and a sandwich."

"Ah, Chin, you're my hero," Danny mumbled. Chin sat in front of him and placed the coffee and sandwich on the table.

Danny quickly took a sip of his new coffee and sighed in content, "My taste buds will forever be grateful to you."

Chin chuckled before his features became serious again. "We got Brandon last night."

Danny nodded, his posture mirrored Chin's. "I know, I saw it on the early morning news," Danny gestured to the TV in the cafeteria.

"I'm sorry I didn't call you for the takedown. The truth is I didn't want to call you…"

Danny waved one of his hands in the air, "I don't think I would have joined you guys even if you called. I was occupied with Grace and Steve. They needed me more."

Chin nodded, relieved that Danny was not disturbed by the fact he was not informed when Brandon was arrested. "How's is Grace?" Chin asked.

Danny pressed his lips together. "She seems okay. She wants me to think she's okay. I know that's not the truth and since she is not ready to talk about it yet, I didn't push. I can tell it's taking a toll on her. She had a fever last night, and Dr. Connor didn't allow her into Steve's room. He's to vulnerable to infection right now, so she had no choice but to go back home." Danny drew in a deep breath. "Rachel called just now, said Grace woke at least twice with nightmares, crying "Uncle Steve has died," so…"

"I'm sorry, Danny."

"What are you apologizing for?" Danny threw him a sad smile.

"How about Steve?" Chin asked.

"Well, he woke up last night so Dr. Connor briefed him about his injuries, but he had fallen asleep by the time I went in. This morning, he woke up, but they threw me out again. They needed to run some tests, so I haven't really had an honest conversation with him. Dr. Connor does say that he is stable," Danny sighed.

"How about you, Danny?"

Danny shrugged. "What about me? I'm not the one who is paralyzed by a man trying to kill me, so I'm great!"

"You know, walking down that road is not going to get you anywhere," Chin said as he studied Danny.

Danny let out a harsh breath.

"Danny, I know this situation is not easy for any of us, but unfortunately here we are. You want to blame yourself, go ahead man, I'm not going to stop you, but remember that the two most important people in your life are counting on you."

Danny looked up.

"You cannot do anything to change what happened, but you can change what's about to happen. Look, Grace needs you to be strong for her and so does Steve. All of us are more than willing to pitch in and help, but you know in your heart, they would turn to you. So, drop this guilt thing, Danny, you have more important things to do here. Things only you can do."

"I'm not sure if I can…"

"Yes, you can." Chin touched Danny's hand on the table. "Be it Grace or Steve, you are the only one who knows what they need even without them telling you, so, yes you can do this. We are all with you."

After a while, Chin whispered, "It's not your fault, brah. You know Steve and Grace would say the same thing."

Danny turned away from Chin, spent a few moments staring at random people in the cafeteria before he turned back to Chin. "You're right, they need me, and it's not my fault."

"Yes," Chin nodded. "Listen, any time you are struggling, I'm always here to listen."

"Thanks, Chin."

Chin smiled. "I better get going," Chin stood up. "I'm not sure if Steve is ready to see us, but if he is, call us, if not send him our regards."

"Sure. Will do."

Chin turned to leave when Danny called him again.

"Yeah?"

"On the news, I saw Kono dragging Brandon to the squad car. His nose looked broken. Did he put a fight?"

Chin shrugged. "Kono said the floor was slippery."

Danny chuckled as he shook his head. "Please tell her that I love her."

"Copy that," Chin smiled one more time before he left.

Danny finished his breakfast, breathed in deeply and walked back to Steve's room.

-H50-H50-H50-

"Woah, I'm sorry, Nora." Danny apologized when he almost knocked Nora over on his way into Steve's room.

"It's okay, Hon." She smiled and it warmed Danny's heart. "I was just about to call you. Steve was asking for you."

Danny raised his eyebrow. "He's still awake?"

"He wants to have a word with you," Nora answered.

Danny nodded at Nora and walked past her towards Steve without wasting another second. Danny took Steve's hand into his.

Danny smiled, Steve's conscious eyes were looking back at him. "..anny."

"Hey," Danny smiled again, he was relieved to see Steve awake, and more alert.

"I'm …orry," Steve mumbled.

"Sorry?" Danny frowned. "What on earth are you sorry for?"

"You said," Steve inhaled, it felt like he was deprived of oxygen each time he tried to speak. "It's a bad idea…" He inhaled again, "to take the kids out."

"Don't you dare!" Danny warned softly. "It's because of you, my kids are still alive."

"…racie?" Steve mumbled the word, hoping Danny would catch the meaning behind his words. "Charlie?"

"She's good, a bit shaken up," Danny answered, hoping Steve wouldn't remember what happened in the room when he first woke up. "And Charlie is good as well. Of course, they are terrified that something really bad happened to you, perhaps emotionally down, but physically good."

Steve blinked, his features seemed to relax a bit.

"What re-ally…happ…?" His eyelids drooped.

"Don't hold back, Steve. Sleep if you have too, I will be right here when you wake up again."

With Danny watching over him, Steve slowly drifted away. Just as he was completely losing himself in the darkness, Grace's voice echoed…

 _I'm sorry, Uncle Steve but I have to do this. I will not let anything happen to you._

He wondered what that was all about, but sleep snatched him away.

Danny lowered Steve's hand back to the bed when he was sure that Steve had fallen asleep.

"He's asleep, Hon?"

Danny nodded without turning back. He knew it was Nora.

"Dr. Connor wanted me to pass a message to you."

Danny quickly turned to Nora.

"He went to attend a surgery but he wanted you to know that Steve has chosen to go for surgery to treat his fractured bone fragment."

"Surgery?"

"Surgery is needed to hold the pieces of fractured bone in position and to prevent them from causing any more pressure on the spinal cord. A metal plate and screws may be used to help hold the bone in place while it heals."

Danny raised his eyebrows.

"Don't worry, Hon. Dr. Connor will debrief you about the surgery and he also wanted you to know that he already passed the test result onto Michelle. She will be looking over them today. While waiting for Dr. Connor, if you want to have a word with her first, she will be on the third floor."

"Thanks, Nora."

-H50-H50-H50-

Danny knocked, waited, and walked in when he heard 'come in'.

"Michelle?"

A lady matching his age with light complexion looked up. She smiled. "Detective Williams?"

Danny smiled as well, "Yes."

"Come in and please have a seat," She gestured to the chair in front of her table. "How's your daughter? I heard she has a fever."

Danny frowned.

"Come on, Detective. Your teenage girl put a fight, saving herself, her uncle, and a nurse in a military hospital and you expect me not to hear about that? That news is spreading like a contagious infection here."

"Well, I appreciate people acknowledging my daughter's bravery, but I hope it doesn't reach Steve. He doesn't need to know what she went through. It's going to hurt him more."

Michelle nodded, she could understand. "Noted. What can I help you with, Detective?"

"First of all, it's Danny. Please call me Danny. Dr. Connor said you and your team will work on Steve's physical therapy."

"Yes," She nodded. "I just finished going through the report Dr. Connor sent me, I will stop by Steve's room later."

"So, what you do think?" Danny asked. "Is there a chance to cure him?"

"We cannot predict with 100% accuracy what will happen in the commander's situation. However, within the first month after injury we can somewhat predict his chances of improvement, but let tell me you this, it all depends on him. We may have the world's best therapy for him, but if he doesn't fight with us, it might not work."

"Don't you worry about that. Steve is a fighter."

"I'm glad to hear that Danny, but you need to understand, right now he's not the old commander anymore, he's a spinal cord injury patient depending on other people to do his daily tasks."

Danny swallowed.

"It's very important to attend to the emotional component as well," Michelle continued. "You can't be standing where you are and expect him to fight on his own. You need to get down to his level, understand his pain and struggles and let him know that you're in this with him."

Danny listened intently as Michelle explained.

"Most of the time, these kinds of patients, since they have to be dependent, it's easy for them to feel that they are a burden to their family. These kinds of feelings sometimes lead depression and withdrawal. Now, I'm not suggesting Commander McGarrett will experience all these, but it's good to be open to the idea that he might."

"No, no," Danny said. "You're right. Thank you for letting me know. I will keep that in my mind."

"Good," Michele smiled. "We work better when we have good support from the family."

"You will get all the support you need from us, I can promise you that. Now, what else should I know?"

* * *

 _ **All feedback are appreciated. Thank you for your time.**_


	14. Chapter 14

_**Author note:**_

 ** _Hello, everyone. English is not my first language, so be easy on me._** ** _Thanks for those who have taken time to review and follow the story._**

 ** _Please review if you have time, all feedback are appreciated._**

 ** _Have a nice day._**

* * *

" _Now, what else should I know?"_

"Right now, nothing much yet, let's wait until he undergoes his surgery. We will only start his physical therapy after his surgery."

"You know, I didn't get a chance to talk to Dr. Connor about this surgery. Is it really important?"

"The cervical spine is like most other bones. If the bone fragments are kept from moving, they will heal. The metal plate and screws will be used to help hold the bone in place and most importantly not to reduce discomfort when we begin his therapy. Right now, the fractured bone is fragile, one wrong move, it can bring destructive harm to the spinal cord. That's why, you might have noticed, a special brace was used to keep him from moving."

Danny nodded. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm just nervous."

"It's okay, Danny. It's completely understandable. Usually, I prepare a detailed manual for the family. I've started one already, you'll get it as soon as possible."

They were interrupted by a knock followed by a man who peeked from behind the door.

"Hey Elle, sorry to disturb. Just to let you know, I'm done with the measurements."

"For Commander McGarrett?"

Danny's eyebrows raised when he heard Steve's name.

"Yes. He's was sleeping but I managed to get it done."

"Good, keep me posted." Michelle waved to her friend and turned her attention back to Danny who was looking at her intently. "That's Nick, by the way, a member of my team. He was talking about measurement to make splints for the Commander."

"Splints?"

"Well, according to Dr. Connor's report, Commander McGarrett can raise his arms and bend his elbows but, he has reduced function in his wrists and fingers. So, we'll be using some splints. That combined with other therapy techniques will help to maximize healing. For example, writing splint, it helps to hold and position a pen for writing, it can also be used for a stylus for mobile phones and tablets. Further into the therapy, we will have different types of splints to help him perform his daily tasks. Depending on his progress we will need other types of supporting aids, for instances, leg splints, and a walking frame."

Danny sighed inwardly with a heavy heart. He still couldn't grasp the fact that Steve needed specific aids to help him to live his life.

"I'm sorry, Danny. I know it's a lot to take in." Michelle smiled sadly. "I will make sure you get the manual on time."

Danny tried his best to smile back before he rose up, extending his hand once again. "In that case, I will not keep you any longer but if there's anything, please don't hesitate to call me."

She shook his hand. "Oh, don't worry about that," She chuckled slightly. "You will get calls from me more than Dr. Connor."

Danny walked out feeling slightly better thinking about Michelle. She seemed nice and without a doubt would fit in with the already good combination of Dr. Connor and Nora.

Danny smiled wider when he saw the caller id of his buzzing phone.

"Hey Monkey."

"Hey, Danno." Grace's voice was a little hoarse. "How are you? How's Uncle Steve?"

"I'm good," Danny answered. "Uncle Steve is good too. He's asleep right now but do you know the first thing he asked me about when he woke up this morning?"

"Me?" Grace's voice cracked a bit.

"Of course. He asked about you and Charlie, if you guys were alright."

"I wish I were there."

"I know, Monkey. How about this? You take care of yourself, follow whatever your mom tells you, feel better, and you can come back." Danny tried to make Grace feel better. "You know Uncle Steve would say the same thing."

"Okay. Can you tell him that I love him?"

Danny smiled. His heart warmed at the love. "Of course."

"I love you too, Danno."

"I love you more. Monkey."

-H50-H50-H50-

Later in the afternoon, Danny was finally able to meet Dr. Connor and talk to him about the surgery. Since Steve's vitals looked stable, they were planning to perform the surgery by the end of the day. Danny agreed, helped to complete the paperwork and prayed for the surgery to be successful, he hoped it worked in Steve's favor.

Finally, after Nora attended to Steve's basic needs, Danny was again in Steve's room.

"Were you here," Steve inhaled greedily the oxygen provided by the nasal cannula before he spoke again "all day?"

Danny sat on the edge of the bed, made sure Steve could see him clearly. "Where else would I be?"

"Danny," Steve whispered, "You should go back," Steve didn't miss the dark circles under Danny's eyes. "It's not like … I'm going anywhere."

"I want to be here," Danny said sternly.

Steve inhaled, he wasn't sure if it was worth it for Danny to be there with him. Steve couldn't help but feel that he had only become a burden to Danny. "I'm sorry, Danny…it's messed up really bad … this time," Steve inhaled before he continued, "I'm sorry …you have to deal with me."

And Danny could sense the being the burden issue evolving and he chose to address the matter carefully. "Look, no matter how much worse it gets, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else except here, not because you need help …it's because I love you and that's what family does."

Steve could feel his eyes well up, hearing Danny's genuine words. They fought all the time, their fights showed how much they cared for each other but rarely did they share their feeling in words.

Danny squeezed Steve's hand. "If anyone should apologize, it's me. It's because of me, my family… you are here … in this situation."

Steve frowned. "What are … you talking about?"

"The shooting in the park, those guys were looking for payback for what Rachel did."

"Rachel?"

Danny nodded before he narrated the whole story between Rachel and Brandon. "So, he was looking for payback, hired two guys, and you know what happened at the park. So, I'm sorry. If I didn't ask you to take the kids out, you wouldn't be here."

"D-anny," Steve whispered, "It's not your fault, man. You wouldn't have … known and it's not Rachel's fault …either."

"I know. Chin, Kono and Lou, they said the same thing."

Steve was glad the team made it clear it was not Danny's fault when Steve couldn't.

"So, just to make things clear, I'm not here because I'm blaming myself for what happened. I'm here because that's what we would do for each other. If I was in your place, you wouldn't have left either, so save it, partner. You're not getting rid of me."

"I rather not…Thanks, Danny."

Danny smiled, feeling lighter for the first time. They might have tons of struggles ahead of them, but he was grateful at least he was able to make things clear with Steve. He would be there for him no matter what.

But Steve, on the other hand, couldn't believe Danny was so close to being shot. To be honest, he was relieved it was him who took the bullet because if Danny was shot and ended up like him, Grace and Charlie would have been devastated. Thinking about Grace and Charlie, another thought popped in Steve's mind.

"So, the payback…was it to shoot you? They thought I … was you?" Steve asked, somehow it didn't make any sense.

"No." Danny answered, his voice dropped a little, "They were there for Grace. She was the target."

Steve's eyes widened and before he could panic, Danny assured him yet again. "She's fine, resting at home."

"She's okay?"

"Hey, hey." Danny squeezed Steve's hand again. "She is fine. She's had a small fever so Dr. Connor wouldn't let her in. That's the only reason why she's not here."

"She was … here before?"

Danny nodded. "She spent every single moment with you, holding your hand and talking to you when you were unconscious while we worked on the case."

This time Steve couldn't resist the tears. He could only imagine how much he actually meant to her.

Danny wiped the tear away. "But at first I didn't want her to see you. I was scared, wondered if she could handle seeing you like this, but you know what she told me?"

"What?"

"She said, you know Danno, I held Uncle Steve bleeding in my arms while waiting for help, I don't think anything else can scare me more. At the moment, she looked bold, confident, she was a new Grace in my eyes."

Steve could only imagine how terrifying that moment in the park after the shooting must have been for Grace, at least Charlie was too young to understand certain things, but Grace… she had to live forever with those disturbing memories.

 _I will not let anything happen to you_. Grace's voice echoed again.

"D-anny," Steve called up, "Did something happen…when she was with me?"

Danny swallowed. Steve asked about the one thing that Danny was hoping he wouldn't remember.

"Promise me you won't freak out." Danny didn't want to lie. Lying at the moment would only create a distant between them and, of all people, Steve wouldn't expect Danny to lie to him about Grace.

"Something did happen." Steve guessed.

"Yes, but she is fine. If you want, I can make a call and you can talk to her. She is fine."

"What happened?"

Danny drew in a deep breath before he told Steve about the fight Grace put up against Ray. Steve looked in disbelief; he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"I know," Danny nodded. "I couldn't believe either at first, but then I saw her holding the gun on Ray."

"She …" Steve was lost for words, "Unbelievable."

"She's unbelievable? How about you? When did you give her a pepper spray?"

Steve couldn't resist a small smile. "It came in handy …didn't it?"

"Thanks, Steve." Danny touched Steve's shoulder. "You saved her life …twice."

"Danny," They were interrupted by Nora's voice at the door. "Sorry to interrupt, but we need to prep Steve for his surgery."

"Can you give me a minute, Nora?" Danny asked.

"Sure thing, Hon. I will come back in a while."

Danny turned back to Steve. "Grace wants me to tell you that she loves you."

"I love her too," Steve whispered, "Go back …home, Danny," Steve said. "The surgery…might take some time."

"I think I will," Danny got down from the bed. "You know, hug my kids, maybe sleep for a while, but listen," Danny looked into Steve's eyes as he squeezed his hand. "Don't go anywhere, okay?"

Steve knew what Danny was trying to say. "I will be…okay, Danny." Steve promised and he was determined to keep his promise no matter how hard it was going to be.

* * *

 _ **All feedback are appreciated. Thank you for your time.**_


	15. Chapter 15

_**Author note:**_

 ** _Hello, everyone. English is not my first language, so be easy on me._** ** _Thanks for those who have taken time to review and follow the story._**

 ** _Please review if you have time, all feedback are appreciated._**

 ** _Have a nice day._**

* * *

24 hours after the surgery was a living nightmare for Danny. Dr. Connor kept saying that the surgery was successful but the sight of Steve, unconscious in ICU with ventilator was enough to keep Danny on the razor's edge. He knew the ventilator was helping Steve but to see his partner lying like a dead meat and a machine attached to assist him to breathe was just too much. That sight of Steve will forever haunt Danny's soul. Danny wondered if he was being paranoid but he couldn't help it, thankfully Nora and Dr. Connor were able to tolerate his unprofessional emotional management.

And Steve who appeared to be sleeping peacefully without any sign of waking up wasn't helping either.

 _I know seeing your friend like this is difficult but I hope you understand how lucky he is. None of the bone fragments bisect his spinal cord. That itself is a very good news. Now with the fragment immobilized, we only have to worry about the pressure added to his spinal cord. Slowly, with him healing physically and combined with physical therapy, I'm optimistic about his recovery._

Dr. Connor's words rang in his ears and he got some form of relief when after 24 hours the ventilator was replaced with a nasal cannula.

And finally, after 36 hours of agonizing wait, Steve opened his eyes, blinking slowly to adjust to the light and Danny remembered to breathe.

Steve tried to open his mouth but Danny quickly held his hand. Steve couldn't really move his fingers to return Danny's squeeze but he knew Danny was holding his hand.

Danny brought his other hand to Steve's forehead. "Steve, it's okay, don't try to talk," Danny said when he saw Steve was struggling to talk.

"You were unconscious for the past one and half day and plus they just took ventilator couples of hours ago, so take it easy. I'm …I'm going to get the doctor." He bent over and ran his hand over Steve's forehead.

Steve felt a tear fall on his face before Danny left. He knew the tear was the sign of Danny's pent up emotion while he was unconscious. He wanted to stay awake at least until Danny came back but his body had a different request and he slowly slipped back into sleep.

-H50-H50-H50-

Steve was awakened by a comforting feel around him. He tried to look around the room but the neck brace didn't help. However, in the corner of his eyes, he could see Grace. She was sitting on the bed but she was lost in her own thoughts.

"…cie," Steve mumbled.

A gasp resounded through the room. "Uncle Steve," her eyes welled up instantly the moment she looked at him.

Grace struggled with emotions when Steve looked back into her eyes. "Hey," he rasped softly.

The dam of emotions broke. "Uncle Steve," Grace barely whispered before she gently laid on Steve's chest, crying her emotions out.

Steve's eyes moisten hearing Grace's sobbing. Focusing on his energy, Steve raised his right arm and placed on Grace's back. He wanted so badly to rub circles on her back but he couldn't so he hoped at least his hand on her back could bring some form of comfort.

Standing outside just beside the door, Danny watched with tears welled up in his eyes as well.

-H50-H50-H50-

 **A few days later.**

"So, the … neck brace stays?" Steve asked.

"Of course, Commander," Michelle answered. "Brace is needed to make sure your spine is protected while the bone fragments heal and they only will heal when they are kept from moving."

"But then …how we will…?"

"Don't worry, Commander. We will use a different brace during the therapy perhaps a more comfortable one, then when you're back to the room and while resting, we will use this brace back," Michelle explained while she pointed to the brace Steve was wearing. "So, I will see you tomorrow then,"

"I guess…"

Standing behind, Danny sensed a hint of hesitation in Steve's voice. Finally, when Michelle left after briefing Steve about his therapy, Danny pulled the chair and sat beside Steve's bed.

"So, what's with the face, babe?"

"What face?"

"Steve, you know I read you like a book, so spill it. I know something is eating your brain."

Steve sighed and thought for a second if he should share it with Danny.

"Buddy, you know you can tell me anything," Danny spoke softly.

"I'm just…you know …tomorrow." Steve struggled to find proper words to express what he was feeling.

"You're nervous about your first day of physical therapy?"

After few moment of silence, Steve spoke. "I'm scared, Danno." His voice cracked a little and it took Danny's breath away.

If it was any other normal day, Danny would have mocked Steve for using that word. Scared, perhaps one word that was not in Steve's dictionary, or at least Danny had never heard Steve even pronouncing that word.

 _It's very important to attend to their words, emotions when they open up to you. Remember, they might be struggling emotionally and if they open to you, it means they trust you._

Danny remembered reading those words in Michelle's manual. Danny bent over, "Buddy, what are you scared of?" To be honest, Danny was taken aback by Steve's confession.

"I can't wait to start…but I'm scared, Danny… what if I …you know…I don't want to…let you guys down, I don't want to let myself down."

"Hey, hey…" Danny quickly squeezed Steve's hand. "Steve, you can never let us down."

-H50-H50-H50-

The first day of his physical therapy started with the tons of neurological test.

"I'm sorry, Commander, we are not getting you out to the wheelchair today."

"Let's just stick to Steve, calling me Commander all the time, it looks too formal," Steve said and he couldn't hide his disappointment, he was waiting to get out of the bed.

"Very well then, Steve," Michelle said. "I know you were waiting to get out of the bed."

"I was, it just sucks to lie on the bed," Steve admitted.

Michelle smiled sadly. "I'm sorry again, but we have to work on few things before we get you out of the bed, okay?"

"Okay," Although he was not happy, deep down he knew these people know what to do, he just got trust them and besides, it's not like he has a choice.

"First part, we will focus on your breathing techniques. You see Steve, your injuries to the cervical spine has weakened your respiratory muscles. That's why you couldn't speak one long sentences in one shot without taking a break. Now one of our priorities is to restore the strength your respiratory muscles and at the same time, to prevent you from respiratory complication."

Steve listened as Michelle explained carefully breathing exercises that he should practice to help his pulmonary system.

"We will do those breathing techniques every day before we start our therapy. So, let's do together, come on, take a deep breath and hold it for a few seconds before slowly breathing out.

And Steve followed as Michelle guided him. After a couple of rounds, they stopped.

"Steve, for now, all the flexibility and stretching exercise that you will be doing will be assisted by us, but once your muscle is up for it, we will teach independent stretching exercise. Okay, so let's start with your wrist and fingers first."

-H50-H50-H50-

"Detective Williams, Governor is ready for you."

"Thank you," Danny nodded as he smiled before he walked to the Governor's room. He knocked and entered when he got the permission. "Good evening, Governor. You wanted to meet me?"

"Detective Williams, please come in." Governor Keiko smiled before she gestured to the chair in front of her table "Please have a seat,"

"How are you, Detective?"

"I'm good, thanks for asking,"

"I heard about all that happened but sorry I couldn't come in person to meet all of you, I was away for a diplomatic visit."

"It's okay, Governor. Your secretary reached out to us and helped us,"

"You must be wondering why I wanted to meet you."

"Yes," Danny answered immediately. He has been cracking his head ever since he got the call in the morning.

"I went to meet Commander in the hospital."

"Oh," Danny raised his eyebrows.

"We talked about of couple things, especially the future of Five-0."

Danny swallowed. "Why am I here, Governor?"

"While talking Five- 0, Commander understands that he is not in his best terms to fulfill his responsibilities, so he is willing to step down…"

"What?" Danny burst out of the chair he was sitting. "You can't throw him out of Five-0."

"Detective Williams, please have a seat,"

"I prefer standing, thank you."

Governor sighed, it was not going to be an easy conversation. "I'm not throwing him out, Detective. We might not have agreed on a couple of things, but believe me when I said I know Steve is the man for the job."

"Damn right,"

"He is very much concerned if he can fulfill the responsibilities as the head of Five-0. Well, he knows at least, for now, he can't and that's is why he is handing it over to you,"

"Just to get this straight, I'm just going to be acting head of Five-0 until he comes back, right?"

"No, he is officially handing over the position to you."

"What? That's crazy…"

"Detective Williams, he understands the circumstances where he might never regain the full function of his body. In that case, he wants to hand the position to someone he trust and he wants the person to get full credit of the position,"

Danny couldn't believe what he was hearing, he couldn't believe Steve have taken a big decision about both of their life without consulting him. He turned and started to leave the room.

"Detective Williams, where are you going?" Governor rose from her chair.

"I'm sorry, Governor. He can't make decision about my life,"

"It's not about you or him, it's about Five-0,"

"We are Five-0 and Five-0 is us. We are Ohana. He can't be taking a decision about Five-0 just because he's the head. We to take agree to it, I have to agree to it," With that, he stormed out the room.

She sat back on her chair and sighed.

On the meantime, Danny drove to the hospital, fuming. He parked his car and walked to the SCI Unit. He stopped at the edge of the door when he heard Nora's voice.

"That's it, Hon, you need anything else?"

"Just water, please."

"Of course." Danny watched as Nora poured a glass of water. "You want to try to hold them?"

"I'm going to ...drop it, Nora. You remember what ...happened yesterday? It was a mess."

"That shouldn't stop us from practicing, come on, this time, I will hold it together with you,"

Danny watched as Nora held the glass together with Steve before she brought the straw to Steve's mouth and he took a few sip. She wiped his mouth with the towel she was holding.

Danny turned away from the room. What he have just seen melted his anger. He sat on the chairs available a few feet away, emotions taking a toll him.

Walking out of the room a few moments later Nora raised her eyebrows when she saw Danny sitting on the chair with tears welled in his eyes. She went and sat beside him. "Honey, what's wrong?" She rubbed his circles on his back.

Danny shook his head as he began to cry silently.

"Oh, honey," Nora pulled Danny into a hug. "It's going to be okay, dear."

* * *

 _ **All feedback are appreciated. Thank you for your time.**_


	16. Chapter 16

_**Author note:**_

 ** _Hello, everyone. English is not my first language, so be easy on me._** ** _Thanks for those who have taken time to review and follow the story._**

 ** _Please review if you have time, all feedback are appreciated._**

 ** _Have a nice day._**

* * *

After a mini outburst of emotions in Nora's arms, Danny went back without meeting Steve. He knew he was emotionally down and he was not in the right state of mind to talk to Steve about the important matter. Back at home in his own bed, Danny laid on his back, staring blankly at his ceiling. He wondered what made him break down in the hospital. Thousands of thoughts ran over him giving him explanations, justifying his action but one thing was clear for him, he was not ready to lose Steve in any way. All the anger burst out of him was not because Steve made the big decision about his life without Danny's input but he was not ready to let Steve go from Five-0, he never will be. Without Steve, Five-0 will not be the same home that he has learned to love beyond reasons. Steve was one of the main reasons why he loved Five-0 in the first place.

Steve and Five-0 made Danny's life go in circles. It's because of Steve, Danny has Five-0, the game changer of his life and Steve … Danny doesn't even have a proper word to express how much that bastard meant to him.

Danny sat up on his bed. He wondered what made Steve take the drastic decision. Giving up his position?

Danny sighed out loudly.

Where was Steve's fearless fighting spirit? Did he give up? Is that why he decided to hand over the position to Danny?

Danny got up from his bed. With his hands on his hip, Danny paced in his room. Nothing seemed to bring peace to his chaotic mind.

"Danno."

Danny stopped pacing when he heard her voice. He turned and saw Grace was standing at the edge of his door.

"Can't sleep?" Grace asked as she walked in.

Danny shrugged. "Maybe but aren't you supposed to be asleep?"

"I was thinking about you." Grace sat on the bed.

"Thinking about me?" Danny frowned as he joined her on his bed.

"Something is wrong, isn't it? You were too quiet during dinner today."

Danny sighed. She always has the ability to catch him red-handed. "It's just stuff at work."

"Work or is it about Uncle Steve?"

"How do you even know I was thinking about him?"

"You look kind of pissed and I notice veins on the side of your forehead. If I remember correctly, only Uncle Steve has that much effect on you, so…" Grace shrugged.

Danny sighed out loudly this time. "Yeah, I was thinking about him."

"Anything I can help with?" Grace asked hopefully.

"I don't know, monkey. I don't really know what he is thinking. Do you know he spoke to the Governor about officially handing over his position to me? It's like he has given up. It's like he believes that he is paralyzed for good and will not recover. I have no idea what I'm going to do with him."

"Maybe he just needs reassurances." Grace spoke.

Danny looked intently at Grace, hoping she would explain more.

"You know I asked my counselor if I will stop getting those nightmares because I can't take it anymore. It's like each time I close my eyes, Uncle Steve dies."

Danny brought Grace's hand into his, giving her his silent comfort.

"She said those are flashbacks. For me, Uncle Steve is my superhero and when I had him bleeding in my arms, my counselor said that scene is ingrained so strongly in my cognition. That's why when I'm asleep, the thought keeps taunting me again and again. When I asked her what I can do about it, she said one way is to avoid any situations that remind me the event. In my case, perhaps it's simple, I just have to meet Uncle Steve to keep reminding myself that he's alive but Danno, think about Uncle Steve. For now, he is stuck with his injuries and merely assuring him that he will recover in time is not going to help. He got nothing to hold on to. He is relying on us even to do his daily basic tasks. Maybe he's shame about it, maybe he's guilty that he's causing us trouble. My counselor said it's easy to feel numb after a life-threatening event, maybe that's what he is feeling."

Danny thought for a second. He knew what he needed to do.

-H50-H50-H50-

The next day, somewhere in the afternoon, Danny went to the hospital. He went straight to have a moment with Nora first.

"Hey," He whispered, getting her attention.

Nora looked up from the report she was writing at the nurses' station. "Oh, hello dear. How are you?"

"I'm better, Nora. Thank you. Listen about yesterday…"

Nora quickly waved her hand to dismiss what he was about to say. "Don't worry about it, I know things are difficult honey. But I'm glad that you let it out, it's not healthy to keep all things inside, burdening you. "

"Nora, you have really been a great help. I can't thank you enough."

Nora smiled as she waved her hand again. "You're praising me too much, young man."

Danny chuckled.

"Now, go to your friend. I'm sure he must be waiting for you and don't worry I will not tell him about what happened yesterday."

"Thank you, Nora."

Leaving Nora to finish her report, Danny walked to Steve's room and a soft smile spread across Danny's face. With a softer neck brace, a blanket covering his legs and hands resting on his lap, Steve was sitting on wheelchair near his room window.

"So, they finally let you out of the bed?" Danny asked as he walked his way in.

"Hey, Danno." Steve greeted, smiling slightly "Only for couple hours, then … they want me back on the bed, resting."

Danny dragged the plastic chair with him and sat in front of Steve. He went straight to point. "Why did you do it?"

"I'm assuming the Governor must have spoken to you."

Danny drew in a deep breath. "I just want to know something, what made you think that I will accept your position?"

"Danny," Steve sighed. "This is who I am right now. I need someone … I trust for the position."

"What are you talking about? You will recover from this."

Steve snorted. "Danny, let's be realistic…I might not recover from this…"

"Are you serious? "Danny rubbed his face before he looked back at Steve. "Where did you get this whole idea of I might not recover? You must be completely whacked out of your brain or something. Did you even understand what Dr. Connor was telling you the other day, about the things that have changed after your surgery? No, shut your mouth when I'm talking," Danny warned softly when he saw Steve opening his mouth.

Steve closed back his mouth.

"Good, you will have to listen to me this time. This subject of you leaving Five-0, or the whole idea, I'm handing over the position to you …we are not going to talk about this unless Dr. Connor or Michelle said that you're finished, there's no hope but I know they will not say as such because they said you will recover. In case you have forgotten, let me repeat for you. Your fractured fragment was immobilized with the surgery and none of the bone fragments bisect your spinal cord which means you are not completely paralyzed, mark my word you're not paralyzed. It's only temporary because the swelling is compromising your functions. According to Dr. Connor, the swelling should subside and be gone within 1 week to 3 months, sometimes even shorter. So once the swelling is gone, you are going to retain your back your functions. It's just a matter of time.

"You don't understand, Danny. I have metal plates and screws in my neck. My life is changed because of this. You will never understand…"

"I will never understand?" Danny burst out of his chair he was sitting, something snapped in him when Steve accused him of not understanding. "What you think I'm trying to do? You think I don't know that everything has changed? Do you have any idea how much things have changed on my side? I have to bring my kids to therapy so that they can sleep at night. I have Rachel who wouldn't even look into my eyes anymore for she believes after ages blaming that the kids are not safe with me, now she has almost got them killed, not to mention, she blames herself for what happened to you. On one side, I watch my kids screaming in their sleep, dreaming about you dying, the other side my ex slowly withdrawing herself into her own world and now I have you blaming me that I don't understand you?" Danny ran out of breath. "Oh God," Danny mumbled before he sat on Steve's bed and dropped his gaze to his hands on his lap.

There was a pin drop silence in the room.

Steve looked at Danny. A small wave of guilt ran down his spine. He never bothered to know how much the incidence affected Danny or the kids. He had only thought of himself, his injuries, and his lost. Oh God, how selfish he was.

"I'm sorry." They said at the same time.

Danny sighed as he got up from the bed. He went over and knelt in front of Steve, holding the armrest of the wheelchair.

"No, Steve. I'm sorry. Look, I know you are struggling. I know this whole idea of accepting help from others is something strange for you." Danny whispered softly. "But babe, we are not some other people, we are a family and that's why you have let us in. Don't lose hope, babe. It's not wrong to let us help you, to be dependent on us." Danny knew it was not easy for Steve to accept help. His words have touched the core point that Steve didn't want to acknowledge.

Steve has never been overwhelmed by emotions. He felt if he was choked up, he had always learned to take care of himself, depending on other had only made him feel weak.

"Hope." Steve shrugged. "It's just hard, you know."

"Sometimes …hope, it's what we need to keep us going. Just because something isn't happening for you right now, doesn't mean that it will never happen. Let me ask you one thing, all those time you went on a mission, do you know for sure that you are going to be successful?"

Steve narrowed his eyes, silently whispering "No."

"Well, I guess, probably, most of the time, you don't even know what you might face but you still take up the mission trusting yourself, didn't you?

Steve blinked, he didn't dare to nod.

"Babe, that's exactly I am asking you to do, trust yourself. Don't let your wounds to break your spirit. Like I said the last time, we are in this together."

"You shouldn't feel obligated to me," Steve whispered.

"Please don't turn my love to you to a mere word of obligation." Danny rose a bit and carefully leaned in to hug Steve.

They stayed holding each other for some time and Danny hoped that the conservation they had will bring the change they desperately needed.

"I'm sorry," Steve mumbled over Danny's shoulders.

Danny quickly pulled away, looking into Steve's eyes. "Babe, what are you sorry for?"

"I never bothered to know…" Steve inhaled deeply "How much you were hurt. God, I didn't even think for once about Grace and Charlie. I'm so insensitive."

"Steve, please," Danny bit his lower lip, mentally slapping himself for bursting out in front of Steve. "Please don't blame yourself. You were hurt, adjusting both physically and emotionally. Well, the truth is I wasn't really honest myself. I didn't want you to know that we were struggling. I didn't want you to feel burdened by that. Steve, your recovery it's like an antidote for us, so I wasn't lying when I said we are in this together. We will only heal together,"

"How are Charlie and Grace really?" Steve asked.

"Well, some days are good, like nothing happened but then some days are bad. The therapy is helping, you're helping actually. Seeing you, being with you, heals them, so when they are okay, I'm okay."

"Again I'm sorry, Danny."

"Please, Steve. Okay fine, let's have a reset. You will talk to me and I will talk to you. We are not a burden to each other. We will heal together. Promise?"

Steve smiled a little. "Promise."

"Good, so coming back to the early discussion. Final decision, I will only be the acting head of Five-0 until you come back."

"Are you sure you don't want the post? I won't be this generous the next time." Steve joked.

"Nah, you keep it." Danny waved his hand. "I don't think the Governor is going to be happy dealing with someone who walks out of the office when she is talking."

Steve frowned for a moment. "Wait, you walked out when she was talking?"

Danny nodded.

"Are you crazy? Why would you do that? She's the Governor."

"If I remember it correctly, you stormed in Denning's office once when he was in middle of a meeting. See, you are a bad influence, babe."

"But still, you love me," Steve couldn't resist a smile.

"You are a maniac and yes, I love you."

* * *

 _ **All feedback are appreciated. Thank you for your time.**_


	17. Chapter 17

_**Author note:**_

 ** _Hello, everyone. English is not my first language, so be easy on me._** ** _Thanks for those who have taken time to review and follow the story._**

 ** _Please review if you have time, all feedback are appreciated._**

 ** _Have a nice day._**

* * *

Danny remembered reading a quote before.

 _Healing yourself is connected with healing others._

And now he knew how true the quote was.

The damage was still there, but Danny could see the difference after the little confrontation he had with Steve.

He can't really be specific about what brought the change but he was beyond grateful to see the difference.

The first difference he saw, was in Steve…

After their little confrontation or what Danny could call it as heart pouring out talk, Danny could see a new Steve … Steve who was more accepting of help, willing to listen, willing to talk openly about his feeling, and of course he was grateful to see the old fearless fighting spirit back.

The whole idea of 'I may not recover', was thrown out in the trash.

And positive vibe from Steve brought tremendous changes in others.

Perhaps that what they say, fix one and the others will simply fall into place.

And today exactly after two months after the shooting, Danny would openly declare the damage no longer had control over their lives.

Danny smiled as he watched Steve sleeping peacefully after his PT session. Actually, Danny couldn't sit still, his excitement was driving him crazy, the only thing was keeping him grounded was the fact Steve was sleeping and Nora would surely throw him out if he made any noise while her favorite patient was sleeping.

Danny checked his watch, if Steve were to follow his usual schedule, he should be asleep for another one hour or so, so he decided to stretch himself.

He walked out quietly and almost bumped into Nora.

"Hey there, young man,"

"Hey yourself," Danny replied chirpily.

"Looks like someone is in a good mood," Nora smirked.

"Of course, you know what day it is." Danny couldn't resist a smile.

"I know but sadly, Steve is the only one doesn't know,"

"Well, in my defense, I thought we are going to surprise him. I come all the way to tell him and your sleeping beauty is still sleeping, so, hey, don't blame me…" Danny raised his hand in a defensive manner.

Nora chuckled. "I can say, he going to be thrilled when he hears about it."

"Thrilled, is probably a word with too low emotions for that maniac but it's okay, I think we can use it for now."

Nora chuckled again. The depth of their friendship will always be something that had amazed her.

"You're good man, Danny. He's lucky to have you."

Danny shrugged. "He's not the only one who is lucky you know."

Danny and Nora exchanged another smiled before she walked away to resume her duty and Danny to the cafeteria to get a cup of coffee.

Taking a sip of his coffee, Danny's memories jogged back to last few weeks.

 _"Rachel, the kids asleep?" Danny sneaked into the kitchen._

 _"Hey, Danny. Yeah, they are asleep. Why, anything?" Rachel asked as he took out the food she had saved for Danny from the fridge._

 _"No, nothing about the kids," Danny mumbled as he watched Rachel reheat the food. "Are you free tomorrow?"_

 _"Only if tell me what's going on." Rachel turned around, looking at Danny._

 _"Steve wants to meet you,"_

Danny took another sip of his coffee. To be honest, Danny knew it wasn't going to be an easy task, to convince Rachel to meet Steve but he knew how important it was for her to meet Steve. Perhaps, Steve was the only one could put any end to her misery.

 _"Hey, Steve." Danny greeted as he walked in with Rachel the next day._

 _"Hey, buddy, perfect timing. I was telling Nora to save some puddings for you."_

 _"Wait, did you just say pudding, you mean Nora's famous chocolate pudding?"_

 _"I got some for you in the nurse's station. I will get some for you."_

 _"I will go with you. Rachel, keep any eye on Steve for a while, okay?" Danny quickly walked out before Rachel could say a word. He walked out and stood just beside the door._

 _Steve can vouch that she was not the same Rachel he had seen before. She was thin, dark circles under her eyes, and she was clearly nervous, on the verge of breaking down being left alone with Steve._

 _"Rachel, can you come a little closer?" Steve asked, softly._

 _"Oh, I'm sorry." She jumped a little before she walked closer to the bed. "How are you?" She asked nervously._

 _"I'm good." It was an honest answer, he was indeed feeling a lot better. "It's not your fault you know."_

 _Tears welled up in Rachel's eyes. "Everyone has been telling me the same thing, I have been telling myself the same thing but it doesn't make things any easier."_

 _"Look, I know it's not easy, it never will be but Rachel, you don't have live with the guilt. You did nothing wrong. I'm not blaming you."_

 _"I know but still I'm so sorry, Steve." Rachel cried. "I'm sorry you were caught in between."_

 _Steve felt bad, he could only imagine the guilt she must be suffocating from._

 _"Again, it's not your fault, it can never be your fault. Let this be the last time you cry about this."_

And it was the last time Rachel cried. Upon Steve's request, Rachel attended few sessions of counseling and they helped her to cope.

Danny took another sip of his coffee and smiled when he remembered the first time, the whole team had lunch together with Steve in his room.

 _"Hey boss, it's so good to see you," Kono said happily as she knelt down beside Steve's wheelchair and kissed his cheek._

 _"Hey, Kono."_

 _"We missed you, Brah." Chin held Steve's hand and squeezed his fingers gently._

 _"I'm sorry I couldn't meet you guys sooner. I needed some time, you know…" Steve cleared his throat._

 _"Hey, don't worry about it." Chin smiled. "We understand."_

 _"Where is the big guy?" Steve asked._

 _"Right here," Lou stepped to the front. "Good to see you, buddy."_

 _"Good to see you too, I hear you have been keeping an eye on my house. How's my fridge? Is it still here?"_

 _"Fridge? I don't know even what are you talking about…"_

Danny smiled again before he checked his watch and realized how much time has passed. He quickly finished his remaining coffee and walked back to Steve's room.

"Well, it's about time you wake up, sleeping beauty." Danny pretend to grumble when he saw Steve. "I had to wait for around one-hour plus for you to wake up."

"Then, maybe you shouldn't have come during my nap time." Steve shot back, he knew Danny was just joking around.

"Oh, your nap time? I'm didn't know sleeping beauty had a nap time."

"Boys, behave," Nora warned.

"Oh, great. I'm right on time." Dr. Connor walked in, joining the others.

"Hey, doc. I thought you said you will only see me tomorrow morning." Steve asked.

"About that," Dr. Connor exchanged a glance with Danny before he looked back at Steve. "I have something very important to tell you, Commander."

Steve couldn't help but feel concerned with the sudden change in Dr. Connor's tone. "What is it?"

"Doc, wait," Danny interjected. "Maybe we … it's a bad idea, I'm telling you."

"What is going on?" Steve asked again, this time obviously worried.

"I hope you can handle what I'm about to tell you, Commander,"

"Just give him the paper, let him read himself." Danny waved at the paper Dr. Connor was holding, clearly avoiding eye-contact with Steve.

"I'm sorry, Commander. Just to let you know it was not my idea to tell you like this."

"Tell me what?" Steve asked, clearly confused before he took the paper from Dr. Connor's hand.

The word discharge caught his attention. "What?" He barely whispered.

"You don't need hospital stay anymore, Commander." Dr. Connor said. "You can continue your treatment as an outpatient.

"I ..I can go home?" Steve stammered, he still couldn't believe himself.

"I don't see any reason to hold you behind anymore, you have been showing tremendous progress in your PT session. You, in fact, have regained almost all lost functions since the swelling had subsided."

"I can't believe this. How come you didn't talk to me about this before?"

"It was Danny's idea. He wanted to surprise you." Dr. Connor smiled.

"Is that right?" Steve smiled at Danny. "You son of …"

"Hey, watch your language. You don't want to curse the man who brought your discharge topic up in the first place."

"But, Commander, you still have to take it easy. It may take some time to adjust yourself after getting out from here. I'm still not clearing you for active duty. Desk duty will do for now. I'm serious about this."

"Don't worry, Dr. Connor. I will take it slowly." Steve promised.

"Slowly? Wow, that's rich coming from you."

Steve rolled his eyes. "What do you think I'm going to do, Danny?"

"I don't know," Danny shrugged. "Maybe jump out the plane? Hand to hand combat?"

"You do realize I'm still using crutches to walk, right? How can I jump out of the plane?"

"You, my crazy friend obviously can."

"Okay!" Dr. Connor interrupted. "That's why Danny, I'm releasing Steve in your care. You can keep an eye on him."

"Me?" Danny raised his eyebrows. "Well, I'm going to stay with him but do you honestly believe he will listen to me?"

"You have any other suggestions?" Dr. Connor asked.

"Actually I do. I happen to know a person who can keep the famous Navy Seal grounded and she is walking in right now."

Steve looked and saw Grace walking in. "Are you serious?"

"Very serious." Danny turned to Grace. "Grace, so glad you can join us,"

"You said there is something important we should know about before we can take Uncle Steve back home so I came straight from school," Grace said as she waved at Steve.

"You father was saying that you can help us to keep an eye on your Uncle Steve. This is a very important matter." Dr. Connor said.

Grace nodded. "I can do that."

"He is right here, you know," Steve spoke.

"We know." Dr. Connor, Nora, Danny, and Grace said at the same time.

"I don't get to say anything about this?"

"No." They answered again.

Steve leaned back and like a kid waited to the adult to finish their talk. About half an hour later, Steve was ready to go home. Steve changed into clothes brought by Danny and carefully stood up after taking the crutches to support him.

"Oh, not so fast, Uncle Steve," Grace said before she pushed the wheelchair in front of him.

Steve looked back and forth between Grace and Danny. "Really?"

"Hospital rules," Grace said with her hands on her hips.

"You know you are not going to win her, so hand over the crutches to me."

Steve without any argument handed over the crutches to Danny and sat in the wheelchair. Danny couldn't resist a big gigantic smile from spreading on his face.

"Oh, God. I'm so gonna enjoy this." Danny mumbled and earned a big irritated look from Steve.

* * *

 _ **All feedback are appreciated. Thank you for your time.**_


	18. Chapter 18

_**Author note:**_

 ** _Hello, everyone. English is not my first language, so be easy on me._** ** _Thanks for those who have taken time to review and follow the story._**

 ** _Please review if you have time, all feedback are appreciated._**

 ** _Have a nice day._**

* * *

 **One year later**

"You are good to go, Commander. I don't see any reason to hold you behind but in case you experience any dizziness or nausea in the next 24 hours, you need to see a doctor,"

"I keep that in mind, thanks guys." Steve stood up as he thanked the paramedics, took his vest and looked around, his eyes scanned the area, finding for his partner.

His eyes found Danny standing far behind. Steve walked past a few police officer and stood beside Danny. "Hey,"

"Hey, they checked you?"

"Yeah," Steve nodded. "They cleared me, but asked me to keep an eye on dizziness or nausea."

Danny nodded.

"Come on, Danny. You know I got no choice." Steve argued. "I had to do something, Danny if not the boy would have burnt alive."

"I know."

"Then, what's with the face, babe?" Steve asked.

Danny sighed. "I'm happy that you saved the boy, but I just concerned you know, I don't like the idea you have put your life in line to save the boy."

"Danny, I took precautions before I enter the burning house, you know that."

"I know, I know."

"Then, what is really bothering you? You haven't been the real you since yesterday like something is bothering you and you are not telling me. I thought we promised about being open with each other."

Danny rubbed his face. "I didn't want to remind you." Danny forced a laugh. "You know it's funny, you guys didn't seem to remember about it but I can't seem to forget about it, and looking at you running into burning house today, not knowing if you going to come out alive, it just feels like a deja vu moment."

Steve frowned for a moment but then he remembered. "Oh, Danny…"

"Yeah." Danny nodded. "You were shot, you almost died last year. Can you believe it, it's already a year."

Steve remained silent. Honestly, he didn't remember. He was too focused on the case.

"You know," Danny continued. "I didn't remember it myself but then the thought just popped up. Grace has the prom night to attend, Charlie has a play date with Sara, Rachel, she has business conferences in Maui and you were too focused on the case. I was so grateful with that. I thought that's great, everybody is busy nobody will remember it."

"Buddy, you should have talked about this to me."

"I know and I'm sorry I didn't. I thought it's nothing but then, seeing you like that just now, everything just flashed like a slow motion in front of my eyes." Danny let out a harsh breath.

"I honestly didn't remember, Danny. You guys have given so many good memories to remember for the past one year that the shooting, I don't know, maybe I don't have a place to remember about it."

Danny smiled.

"I wanted to tell you something since you have said it has been a year. Last year, I was in a dark place and if it isn't for you, I don't think I would be here, so thanks, brother."

Danny smiled. "We saved each other, that's the truth."

"I have an idea. How about we create a new memory today so that next year we will remember this new memory instead of last year's shooting." Steve suggested.

"What you have in mind?"

"Let's hit the side street," Steve took his wallet and showed Danny, "On me."

"You're buying?" Danny asked, surprised.

Steve wrapped his hand around Danny's shoulder, pulling him towards their car. "Like I said, let's make new memories."

"Oh, then, I'm buying dinner, supper and maybe even breakfast for tomorrow," Danny mumbled.

Steve chuckled. "Anything for you brother, anything for you…"

 _Family isn't always blood. It's the people in your life who want you in theirs; the one who accept you as who you are. The one who would do anything to see you smile and who love you no matter what - Unknown-_

 **The End**

* * *

 ** _Last but not least, I would like to thank everyone for all the those encouraging and educational reviews. I would not have come so far without you guys enjoying the story. So, a big fat thanks for everyone._**

 _ **Sincere apologies for the mistakes if there are any. All feedbacks are appreciated.**_

 _ **Thank you for your time. Have a nice day.**_


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